Adaptive vehicle headlight

ABSTRACT

Example adaptive vehicle headlights are disclosed. An example system includes a photodetector, an illumination source configured to generate first light during a first operating mode, a spatial light modulator (SLM), and a dichroic filter optically coupled to the illumination source and to the SLM, wherein the dichroic filter is configured to direct the first light to the SLM, and the SLM is configured to direct second light to the dichroic filter during a second operating mode, wherein the dichroic filter is configured to direct the second light having a first color to the photodetector, and direct the first light during the first operating mode.

RELATED APPLICATION

This patent arises from an application claiming the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/947,199, which was filed on Dec.12, 2019, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND

Vehicles are becoming increasingly complex as new electronic systems,such as autonomous driving and sensing technologies, become mainstream.Such electronic systems may include smart headlights and light detectionand ranging (LIDAR) systems that may provide enhanced driving ability orimproved safety for an operator of a vehicle. However, increasing thenumber and variety of electronic systems necessarily increases the costand integration complexity of such vehicles, which may slow widespreadadoption of such electronic systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example vehicle including exampleadaptive headlights to facilitate control of the vehicle.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the example vehicle of FIG. 1 including theexample adaptive headlights of FIG. 1 and an example heads-up display tofacilitate control of the vehicle.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a first example vehicle imaging system tofacilitate control of the example vehicle of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 duringdaytime operation.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of the first example vehicle imaging system ofFIG. 3 to facilitate control of the example vehicle of FIGS. 1 and/or 2during nighttime operation.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a second example vehicle imaging system tofacilitate control of the example vehicle of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 duringdaytime operation.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of the second example vehicle imaging systemof FIG. 5 to facilitate control of the example vehicle of FIGS. 1 and/or2 during nighttime operation.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of the adaptive headlights of FIGS. 1 and/or 2, the first example vehicle imaging system of FIGS. 3-4 , and/or thesecond example vehicle imaging system of FIGS. 5-6 generating andcapturing an example light pattern on an example environment.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a first example light pattern that may begenerated by the adaptive headlights of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the firstexample vehicle imaging system of FIGS. 3-4 , and/or the second examplevehicle imaging system of FIGS. 5-6 .

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a second example light pattern that may begenerated by the adaptive headlights of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the firstexample vehicle imaging system of FIGS. 3-4 , and/or the second examplevehicle imaging system of FIGS. 5-6 .

FIG. 10 is a first timing diagram of a first example implementation ofgenerating first example structured light patterns that may be generatedby the adaptive headlights of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the first examplevehicle imaging system of FIGS. 3-4 , and/or the second example vehicleimaging system of FIGS. 5-6 .

FIG. 11 is a second timing diagram of a second example implementation ofgenerating second example structured light patterns that may begenerated by the adaptive headlights of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the firstexample vehicle imaging system of FIGS. 3-4 , and/or the second examplevehicle imaging system of FIGS. 5-6 .

FIGS. 12A-12B illustrate a flowchart representative of an example systemthat may be executed to implement the adaptive headlights of FIGS. 1and/or 2 , the first example vehicle imaging system of FIGS. 3-4 ,and/or the second example vehicle imaging system of FIGS. 5-6 tofacilitate vehicle control based on an operating mode of a headlight.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the adaptive headlightsof FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the first example vehicle imaging system of FIGS.3-4 , and/or the second example vehicle imaging system of FIGS. 5-6 tofacilitate vehicle control using a headlight with a configured opticalpath.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the adaptive headlightsof FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the first example vehicle imaging system of FIGS.3-4 , and/or the second example vehicle imaging system of FIGS. 5-6 toconfigure optical paths associated with a headlight for a daytimeheadlight operating mode.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the adaptive headlightsof FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the first example vehicle imaging system of FIGS.3-4 , and/or the second example vehicle imaging system of FIGS. 5-6 toconfigure optical paths associated with a headlight for a nighttimeheadlight operating mode.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an example processing platform structuredto execute the example machine readable instructions of FIGS. 12A-15 toimplement the adaptive headlights of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the firstexample vehicle imaging system of FIGS. 3-4 , and/or the second examplevehicle imaging system of FIGS. 5-6 .

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an example software distribution platformto distribute software (e.g., software corresponding to the examplemachine readable instructions of FIGS. 12A-15 ) to client devices suchas consumers (e.g., for license, sale and/or use), retailers (e.g., forsale, re-sale, license, and/or sub-license), and/or original equipmentmanufacturers (OEMs) (e.g., for inclusion in products to be distributedto, for example, retailers and/or to direct buy customers).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The figures are not to scale. Generally, the same reference numbers inthe drawing(s) and this description refer to the same or like parts.Although the drawings show layers and regions with clean lines andboundaries, some or all of these lines and/or boundaries may beidealized. In reality, the boundaries and/or lines may be unobservable,blended and/or irregular.

Automotive vehicles (e.g., all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), industrial motorvehicles, sedans, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), trucks, vans, etc.),such as internal combustion engine vehicles, hybrid-electric vehicles(HEVs), electric vehicles (EVs), etc., may benefit from includingadaptive headlights and/or light detection and ranging (LIDAR) systemsto assist an operator to control the automotive vehicles and/oreffectuate autonomous driving of such automotive vehicles. For example,an adaptive headlight may adjust its brightness in response to changingdriving conditions. In other instances, a LIDAR system may be used toidentify an object, determine a distance between the vehicle and theobject (e.g., a building, a pedestrian, a vehicle, etc.), and invoke anassisted or autonomous driving action based on the identification andthe distance or communicate the same to the driver.

A vehicle may include adaptive headlights and a LIDAR system to improvesafety in connection with driving the vehicle. However, including bothof these systems in the vehicle may be relatively expensive and mayprohibit widespread adoption in some vehicle markets (e.g., compactvehicles or baseline vehicle models).

Examples described herein include adaptive headlights that sharefunctionality with LIDAR systems to reduce a cost and electronicintegration complexity of a vehicle and improve the operation of thevehicle. In some described examples, a spatial light modulator is sharedbetween the headlight and LIDAR systems based on changing drivingconditions. For example, the adaptive headlights may use the spatiallight modulator to project light or adaptive light patterns on a roadsurface during nighttime or in otherwise reduced lighting conditions. Inother examples, when the adaptive headlights are not utilized, thespatial light modular may be used by other optical systems and/oroptical paths.

In some described examples, the LIDAR system may use the spatial lightmodulator to filter out ambient light from a photodetector duringdaytime or in otherwise increased lighting conditions. In such describedexamples, the LIDAR system may remain active during nighttime by usingan auxiliary photodetector without an ambient light filtering system,which may not be needed during nighttime. Advantageously, examplesdescribed herein include the spatial light modulator to be re-configuredto effectuate different optical functions based on a time of day orother condition (e.g., an environmental condition, a vehicle condition,etc.) of interest. In some described examples, a dichroic element may beused to optically multiplex the spatial light modulator between thedifferent optical functions.

As used herein, connection references (e.g., attached, coupled, adaptedto be coupled, connected, joined, among others) are to be construed inlight of the specification and, when pertinent, the surrounding claimlanguage. Construction of connection references in the presentapplication shall be consistent with the claim language and the contextof the specification which describes the purpose for which variouselements are connected. As such, connection references do notnecessarily infer that two elements are directly connected and in fixedrelation to each other.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a first example environment 100 includingan example vehicle 102. For example, the first environment 100 mayinclude a scene to be analyzed or processed by the vehicle 102 orsystem(s) thereof during daytime or in otherwise increased lightconditions. The first environment 100 may include animals, buildings,pedestrians, vehicles, aspects of nature (e.g., a hill, a mountain, atree, etc.), etc., and/or a combination thereof.

The vehicle 102 is an automobile. For example, the vehicle 102 may be anICE vehicle, an HEV vehicle, an EV vehicle, etc. The vehicle 102includes a first example headlight 104 and a second example headlight105. The headlights 104, 105 are adaptive headlights, which may adjusttheir operation based on a condition of interest. For example, thecondition may be a time condition (e.g., a timestamp, a time of day,etc.), an environmental condition (e.g., the sun 107 is out and therebyconstitutes a daytime condition, the sun 107 is covered by clouds andthereby constitutes a reduced lighting condition, the sun 107 is out andthereby constitutes a nighttime or the reduced lighting condition,etc.), a presence of a detected obstacle, a position of a steering wheelof the vehicle 102, an activation of a turn signal (e.g., a status of aturn signal indicates that the turn signal is active) of the vehicle102, an input from an operator of the vehicle 102, etc., and/or acombination thereof.

The headlights 104, 105 include example electronic control unit(s)(ECU(s)) 106, an example LIDAR system 108, an example adaptive headlightsystem 110, an example camera 112, and an example bus 114. The ECU(s)106 is/are hardware that may control different function(s),operation(s), etc., of the vehicle 102. For example, the vehicle 102 mayinclude a first one of the ECU(s) 106 that may control an engine and/orelectric motor of the vehicle 102, a second one of the ECU(s) 106 thatmay control a transmission of the vehicle 102, etc. In this example, theECU(s) 106 may control the LIDAR system 108, the adaptive headlightsystem 110, and/or the camera 112.

In some examples, the ECU(s) 106 determine an operating mode of thesecond headlight 105, and/or, more generally, the vehicle 102. Forexample, the ECU(s) 106 may determine that second headlight 105 is tooperate in a daytime operating mode (e.g., a daytime headlight operatingmode) or a nighttime operating mode (e.g., a nighttime headlightoperating mode). In such examples, the ECU(s) 106 may generate andtransmit command(s) to the SLM controller 128 to operate the SLM 126 inthe daytime operating mode or the nighttime operating mode. Additionallyor alternatively, the SLM controller 128 may determine that the secondheadlight 105 is to operate in the daytime operating mode or thenighttime operating mode

The LIDAR system 108 is a scanning LIDAR system. The LIDAR system 108effectuates machine vision operations, such as perceiving the firstenvironment 100 or portion(s) thereof, identifying and/or otherwiseidentifying objects in the first environment 100, etc. In this example,the LIDAR system 108 scans transmitted light across a field of view ofthe first environment 100. The LIDAR system 108 includes an examplelaser 116, an example mirror (e.g., a laser mirror, a rotatable mirror,etc.) 118, a first example detector 120, and a second example detector122. The laser 116 may be implemented with an infrared (IR) laser.Alternatively, any other laser type may be used. The mirror 118 may beimplemented with a MEMS mirror, galvo, or optical phase array.Alternatively, any other mirror type may be used. The first detector 120and/or the second detector 122 are photodetectors. For example, thefirst detector 120 and/or the second detector 122 may be implementedwith an avalanche photodiode. Alternatively, the first detector 120and/or the second detector 122 may be implemented using a SiliconPhotomultiplier (SiPM) or a Multi-Pixel Photon Counter (MPPC).

The first detector 120 and/or the second detector 122 may remainstationary, while at the same time is/are able to detect and/or receivelight from any direction that the LIDAR system 108 transmits light. Insuch examples, the first detector 120 and/or the second detector 122 maybecome blinded or saturated by ambient light or other light sourcesbecause the first detector 120 and/or the second detector 122 is/areable to receive light from a wide field of view. Advantageously, asdescribed herein, optical path(s) of the headlights 104, 105 may beconfigured to mitigate, reduce, and/or otherwise eliminate suchshortcomings in connection with one(s) of the detectors 120, 122.

In this example, the adaptive headlight system 110 includes the firstdetector 120, the second detector 122, an example light source 124, theSLM 126, and the SLM controller 128. Additionally or alternatively, theadaptive headlight system 110 may include fewer or more components. Thelight source 124 may be an illumination source implemented by one ormore light-emitting diodes (LEDs) (e.g., one or more white LEDs, one ormore color LEDs, etc., and/or a combination thereof). In some examples,the light source 124 may be a non-LED light or illumination source(e.g., a gas discharge lamp such as a Xenon bulb, a compact fluorescentlamp (CFL), a halogen lamp, etc.). In some examples, the light source124 may be turned on during the day or daytime while the vehicle 102 istraveling through a construction zone, during the night or nighttime,etc.

The headlights 104, 105 include the camera 112 to capturetwo-dimensional (2-D) data to support the generation ofthree-dimensional (3-D) data (e.g., three-dimensional data, 3-D distanceor measurement data, etc.) associated with objects of the firstenvironment 100, and/or, more generally, of the first environment 100.For example, the ECU(s) 106 may use the 3-D data to determine a distanceof an object and determine whether to execute an assisted or autonomousdriving function, such as adjust a speed of the vehicle 102, adjust aposition of a steering wheel of the vehicle 102, etc.

In some examples, the camera 112 supports the generation of 3-D databased on a first image (or first video) captured by a first one of thecameras 112 in the first headlight 104 and a second image (or secondvideo) captured by a second one of the cameras 112 in the secondheadlight 105. For example, the cameras 112 in the first headlight 104and the second headlight 105 may each generate 2-D data, which, whencombined and/or otherwise processed in combination with each other bythe ECU(s) 106 (or by different processor(s) and/or hardware), may beused to generate stereo images (or stereo video). In such examples, thecameras 112 may support the generation of stereo images (or stereovideo) during daytime operation of the headlights 104, 105.

In some examples, the ECU(s) 106 generates 3-D data based on 2-D datagenerated by the camera 112. In such examples, the ECU(s) 106 maygenerate 3-D data based on light patterns (e.g., structured lightpatterns) captured by the camera 112 during nighttime operation of theheadlights 104, 105. For example, the light source 124 may emit lightthat may be used to illuminate a structured light pattern on an objectin the first environment 100. Structured light may correspond to atechnique of projecting a known pattern onto a scene, an object in thescene, etc. In such examples, the ECU(s) 106 may generate the 3-D databy calculating depth and/or surface information of the object in thescene based on a deformation of the known pattern when the known patternstrikes a surface of the object. In some examples, the known pattern maybe implemented by a grid, vertical bars, horizontal bars, etc.

The headlights 104, 105 include an example spatial light modulator (SLM)126 and an example SLM controller 128. The SLM 126 may impose some formof spatially varying modulation on a beam of light (e.g., light from thelight source 124, a reflected beam of the laser 116 from the firstenvironment 100, etc.). In this example, the SLM 126 is a digital SLM.For example, the SLM 126 may be an electrical input, optical outputmicro-electrical-mechanical system (MEMS) ormicro-opto-electromechanical system (MOEMS) implemented with an array ofhighly reflective micromirrors (e.g., aluminum micromirrors ormicromirrors implemented with any other type of reflective material) toeffectuate high-speed, efficient, and reliable spatial light modulation(e.g., reflective phase modulation) with individually addressablepixels.

In some examples, the SLM 126 is implemented with an array of millions(e.g., 5 million, 8 million, 12 million, etc.) of individuallycontrolled elements, such as micromirrors, built on top of an associatedcomplimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) memory cell. For example,the SLM controller 128 may individually control one(s) of the millionsof micromirrors. The SLM controller 128 may load each underlying CMOSmemory cell with a ‘1’ or a ‘0’. The SLM controller 128 may apply amirror reset pulse, which causes each of the micromirrors to beelectrostatically deflected about a hinge to an associated+/−degreestate. For example, the SLM controller 128 may adjust a horizontaland/or vertical tilt of one(s) of the micromirrors.

In some examples, the +degree state corresponds to an ‘on’ pixel and the‘-’ degree state corresponds to an ‘off’ pixel. In some examples, themicromirrors of the SLM 126 may have +/−12 degree states, +/−17 degreestates, etc. Alternatively, one(s) of the micromirrors may have anyother+/−degree state. In some examples, the SLM controller 128 controlsthe SLM 126 to generate grayscale patterns by programming the on/offduty cycle of one(s) of the micromirrors. In some examples, the SLMcontroller 128 controls the SLM 126 to generate full red-green-blue(RGB) color images by multiplexing multiple light sources (e.g.,multiple ones of the light source 124). In some examples, the SLM 126 isimplemented with a digital micromirror device (DMD), by TexasInstruments®.

In some examples, the SLM 126 and/or the SLM controller 128 implementportion(s) of the LIDAR system 108 and/or the adaptive headlight system110. For example, the light source 124 may be turned off during daytimeoperation. In such examples, the SLM controller 128 may control the SLM126 to receive the reflected beams from the laser 116 and reflect thereceived beams to the first detector 120. In other examples, the lightsource 124 may be turned on during nighttime operation. In suchexamples, the SLM controller 128 may control the SLM 126 to reflectlight from the light source 124 to the first environment 100 fornighttime visibility while driving the vehicle 102. In some suchexamples, the second detector 122 may receive the reflected beams fromthe laser 116 while the first detector 120 is disabled and/or otherwisenot in use during nighttime operation.

In another example, the SLM 126 is a Liquid-Crystal-on-Silicon (LCoS)hardware (e.g., an LCoS projector, an LCoS display, an LCoS device,etc.). The LCoS hardware may be implemented as a reflectiveactive-matrix liquid-crystal display (e.g., a microdisplay) that uses aliquid crystal layer on top of a silicon backplane. In some examples, anLCoS device may reflect light from the light source 124 to a lens orprism that collects and/or otherwise aggregates the light and displaysan image based on the collected light. For example, the SLM controller128 may control the voltage on reflective electrodes (e.g., squarereflective electrodes, aluminum electrodes or reflective electrodes,etc.) beneath the liquid crystal layer. In some examples, each of thereflective electrodes may control one light pixel.

In some examples, the LCoS hardware may use a plurality of elements,such as liquid crystals, to control the amount of reflected light fromthe light source 124 to the lens or prism. For example, the LCoS devicemay control first elements, or a first set of liquid crystals, toreflect first light from the light source 124 to the first environment100. In such examples, the LCoS device may control second elements, or asecond set of the liquid crystals, to not reflect the first light fromthe light source 124 to the first environment 100. In some examples, theliquid crystals are substances that are in a mesomorphic state (e.g.,may not be either a liquid or a solid). In some examples, the liquidcrystals may be implemented with ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs).In some examples, FLCs may align themselves at a fixed angle away fromthe normal into orderly rows. The FLCs may develop an electricalpolarity when they come into contact with an electrical charge.Alternatively, the liquid crystals may be implemented with any othertype of liquid crystal. In additional examples, the SLM 126 is anotherhardware and/or technology that has a sufficient pattern update rate(e.g., a pattern update rate of 50 microseconds (us), 100 us, etc.) toaccommodate the tracking of the reflected beam of the laser 116.

In this example, the ECU(s) 106, the LIDAR system 108, the adaptiveheadlight system 110, and the camera 112 are in communication withone(s) of each other via the bus 114. For example, the ECU(s) 106, thecamera 112, the laser 116, the mirror 118, the first detector 120, thesecond detector 122, the light source 124, the SLM 126, and/or the SLMcontroller 128 may be in communication with one(s) of each other via thebus 114. In some examples, the bus 114 is representative of and/orotherwise is implemented by one or more interfaces (e.g., datainterfaces, communication interfaces, etc.). For example, the bus 114may be implemented by at least one of an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C)bus, a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) bus, a Peripheral ComponentInterconnect (PCI) bus, a camera serial interface (CSI), or an Ethernetinterface. For example, a first interface between the camera 112 and theECU(s) 106 may be implemented by a CSI. In such examples, a secondinterface between the ECU(s) 106 and the LIDAR system 108 may beimplemented by Ethernet.

In this example, the ECU(s) 106, the headlights 104, 105, and/or, moregenerally, the vehicle 102, are in communication with example externalcomputing system(s) 130 via an example network 132. The externalcomputing system(s) 130 may be implemented with one or more computerservers, data facilities, cloud services, etc. The network 132 is theInternet. However, the network 132 may be implemented using any suitablewired and/or wireless network(s) including, for example, one or moredata buses, one or more Local Area Networks (LANs), one or more wirelessLANs, one or more cellular networks, one or more private networks, oneor more public networks, etc. The network 132 enables the ECU(s) 106,the headlights 104, 105, and/or, more generally, the vehicle 102, to bein communication with the external computing system(s) 130.

By way of example, the network 132 may be a wired network. For example,the vehicle 102 may be brought to a vehicle service facility (e.g., avehicle dealership, a vehicle repair shop, etc.). In such examples, thevehicle 102 may be connected to the external computing system(s) 130 viathe network 132 with a wired connection (e.g., an Ethernet interface toimplement a LAN connection). In some such examples, firmware and/orsoftware of the ECU(s) 106, the SLM controller 128, etc., may be updatedusing firmware and/or software from the external computing system(s)130. Alternatively, the vehicle 102 may be connected to the externalcomputing system(s) 130 via the network 132 with a wireless connectionto update the firmware and/or software of the ECU(s) 106, the SLMcontroller 128, etc., using firmware and/or software from the externalcomputing system(s) 130.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a second example environment 200 includingthe vehicle 102 of FIG. 1 . For example, the second environment 200 mayinclude a scene to be analyzed or processed by the vehicle 102 orsystem(s) thereof during nighttime or in otherwise reduced lightconditions. The second environment 200 may include animals, buildings,pedestrians, reflective road markings and/or traffic signs, vehicles,aspects of nature (e.g., a hill, a mountain, a tree, etc.), etc., and/ora combination thereof.

The vehicle 102 includes the first headlight 104 of FIG. 1 . In thisexample, the first headlight 104 projects example headlight patterns204, 206 onto a road surface. In this example, the headlight patterns204, 206 include a first example headlight pattern 204 and a secondexample headlight pattern 206. The first headlight pattern 204 includesa graphic representative of a construction worker. Advantageously, thefirst headlight 104 may project the first headlight pattern 204 onto theroad surface to alert an operator of the vehicle 102 that the vehicle102 is entering a construction zone or other safety zone. The secondheadlight pattern 206 includes graphics representative of enhanced roadmarkings. Advantageously, the first headlight 104 may project the secondheadlight pattern 206 onto the road surface to alert the operator ofchanges in the road surface.

The vehicle 102 includes an example heads-up display (HUD) 202 tofacilitate control of the vehicle 102. For example, the first headlight104 may include the ECU(s) 106, the LIDAR system 108, the adaptiveheadlight system 110, the camera 112, and the bus 114 of FIG. 1 .Further depicted in FIG. 2 , the first headlight 104 is in communicationwith the external computing system(s) 130 via the network 132 of FIG. 1. Although not shown, the vehicle 102 includes the second headlight 105of FIG. 1 . The HUD 202 is a transparent display in a field-of-view ofan operator of the vehicle 102. In such examples, the HUD 202 may beprojected onto a portion of the front windshield of the vehicle 102.Alternatively, the HUD 202 may be displayed elsewhere in the vehicle102.

The HUD 202 displays information of interest to an operator of thevehicle 102. For example, the HUD 202 may be configured to displayenvironment conditions, such as a humidity level, a temperature, a windspeed, etc., or any other weather condition or information. The HUD 202may be configured to display vehicle data (e.g., a speed of the vehicle102, a fuel economy or power source range of the vehicle 102, etc.), anengine-related metric (e.g., a revolutions-per-minute (RPM) reading ofan engine of the vehicle 102), an electric-motor metric (e.g., a currentor voltage measurement, a torque, etc.), an electric vehicle metric(e.g., a battery or power source level), etc., and/or a combinationthereof.

In some examples, the HUD 202 may be configured to display environmentdetection information. For example, the environment detectioninformation may include a visual representation of the secondenvironment 200 with enhanced clarity (e.g., a white/blackrepresentation, a nighttime mode display, etc.) during nighttime. Insuch examples, the visual representation may depict portion(s) of thesecond environment 200, such as the road surface, other vehicle(s)proximate the vehicle 102, reflective road markings, etc. For example,the LIDAR system 108 may detect the portion(s) of the second environment200 and transmit the detected portion(s) to the ECU(s) 106. The ECU(s)106 may generate environment detection information based on the detectedportion(s) and transmit the environment detection information to the HUD202 for display to an operator of the vehicle 102.

In some examples, the ECU(s) 106 may determine 3-D data from the 2-Ddata generated by the camera 112 by determining distortions (e.g.,distortion measurements) of structured light patterns generated by theadaptive headlight system 110. In such examples, the camera 112 maytransmit the 2-D data indicative of the distortions to the ECU(s) 106.The ECU(s) 106 may generate 3-D data based on the 2-D data. The ECU(s)106 may determine environment detection information based on the 3-Ddata and transmit the environment detection information to the HUD 202for presentation to an operator of the vehicle 102. Advantageously,examples described herein may re-use components of the first headlight104, such as the SLM 126 and/or the SLM controller 128 of FIG. 1 , toimplement portion(s) of the LIDAR system 108 and the adaptive headlightsystem 110 during nighttime operation. Advantageously, examplesdescribed herein eliminate redundant LIDAR and/or adaptive headlightcomponents, such as the SLM 126 and/or the SLM controller 128.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a first example vehicle imaging system 300to facilitate control of the vehicle 102 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 duringdaytime operation. The first vehicle imaging system 300 includes exampleECU(s) 302, an example camera 304, an example bus 306, an example laser308, an example mirror (e.g., laser mirror) 310, a first exampledetector 312, a second example detector 314, an example light source316, an example SLM 318, an example SLM controller 320, an exampleprojection lens 322, an example biconic mirror 324, and an exampledichroic filter 326, and an example scene 328. In some examples,respective one(s) of the ECU(s) 302, the camera 304, the bus 306, thelaser 308, the mirror 310, the first detector 312, the second detector314, the light source 316, the example SLM 318, and/or the example SLMcontroller 320 may implement respective one(s) of the ECU(s) 106, thecamera 112, the bus 114, the laser 116, the mirror 118, the firstdetector 120, the second detector 122, the light source 124, the SLM126, and/or the SLM controller 128 of FIG. 1 . In some examples, aninstance of the first vehicle imaging system 300 may implement the firstheadlight 104 or the second headlight 105 of FIG. 1 .

In example operation, the ECU(s) 302 enable and/or otherwise turn on thelaser 308 to scan an example scene 328. The ECU(s) 302 may control aposition, a rotation, etc., of the mirror 310 to adjust portion(s) ofthe scene 328 to be measured, scanned, and/or otherwise analyzed. TheECU(s) 302 may determine that the scene 328 is indicative of daytime.For example, the ECU(s) 302 may determine that the scene 328 is anenvironment during the daytime based on time data (e.g., a timestamp, atime of day, etc.), environmental data (e.g., a measurement from a lightsensor of the vehicle 102, data from an Internet-facilitated weatherservice, etc.), user control data (e.g., an operator of the vehicle 102activates a daytime operation switch, configuration, setting, etc.),etc., and/or a combination thereof. In such examples, the ECU(s) 302 mayturn off and/or otherwise disable an illumination source, such as thelight source 316, which may not be needed during daytime operation.

In example operation, the ECU(s) 302 may generate and transmitcommand(s) to the SLM controller 320 to operate the first vehicleimaging system 300 in a daytime operating mode (e.g., a daytimeheadlight operating mode). The SLM controller 320 may determine that thescene 328 is an environment during the daytime based on the command(s)from the ECU(s) 302. The SLM controller 320 may control the SLM 318 toreject ambient light from the scene 328 to improve operation of theLIDAR system 108 of FIG. 1 , which includes the laser 308 and the mirror310. For example, the SLM controller 320 may adjust an optical pathassociated with the first vehicle imaging system 300 by configuring adegree state of one(s) of the micromirrors of the SLM 318 to rejectand/or otherwise reduce ambient light.

In example operation, the SLM controller 320 may control the SLM 318 toreceive infrared light through the projection lens that is transmittedby the laser 308 and reflected from the scene 328. For example, the SLMcontroller 320 may control first one(s) of the micromirrors (e.g., firstone(s) of the elements) of the SLM 318 to reflect and/or otherwise steerthe infrared light received via the projection lens 322 to the biconicmirror 324, which reflects and/or otherwise steers the infrared light tothe dichroic filter 326 and ultimately to the first detector 312. TheSLM controller 320 may control second one(s) of the micromirrors (e.g.,second one(s) of the elements) of the SLM 318 to reflect non-infraredlight (e.g., ambient light) away from the biconic mirror 324. Forexample, the SLM controller 320 may determine that the second one(s) ofthe micromirrors are likely to reflect the non-infrared light based on aposition of the mirror 310. In such examples, the SLM controller 320 maydetermine to control the position(s) of the second one(s) of themicromirrors to reflect the non-infrared light away from the biconicmirror 324.

The biconic mirror 324 is a physical material having a curved surface(e.g., a spherical curved surface, an aspheric curved surface, etc.)that has two different radii to reduce and/or otherwise eliminatevectorial aberrations from the reflected infrared light. The dichroicfilter 326 is a physical thin-film or interference filter that isconfigured to selectively pass light of a small range of colors (orlight) while reflecting other colors. For example, the dichroic filter326 may be implemented with a physical material having a thin filmconfigured to reflect infrared light towards the first detector 312while reflecting non-infrared light away from the first detector 312.

In example operation, the first detector 312 detects the portion(s) ofthe scene 328 and transmits the detected portion(s) to the ECU(s) 302.The ECU(s) 302 may generate environment detection information based onthe detected portion(s) and transmit the environment detectioninformation to the HUD 202 of FIG. 2 for display to an operator of thevehicle 102 and/or for further processing. In example operation, theECU(s) 302 ignore and/or otherwise drop data from the second detector314 because the second detector 314 may be saturated with ambient light.Advantageously, the SLM controller 320 may utilize the SLM 318 toimprove operation of the LIDAR system 108 of FIG. 1 during daytimeoperation by reducing electrical noise associated with the firstdetector 312 receiving ambient light from the scene 328.

In example operation, the camera 304 may capture an image, sequentialimages (e.g., video), etc., of the scene 328 to generate 2-D data, whichmay be used to generate 3-D data. For example, the camera 304 of thefirst headlight 104 may transmit a first image at a first time to afirst one of the ECU(s) 302 and the camera 304 of the second headlight105 may transmit a second image at substantially the first time to asecond one of the ECU(s) 302. In such examples, the ECU(s) 302 maygenerate 3-D data, such as a distance of an object in the scene 328, bycreating a stereo image based on the first and second images. In someexamples, the camera 304 of the first headlight 104 and the camera 304of the second headlight 105 may transmit the first and second images tothe same one of the ECU(s) 302 to cause the generation of the 3-D data.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of the first vehicle imaging system 300 ofFIG. 3 to facilitate control of the vehicle 102 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2during nighttime operation. In example operation, the ECU(s) 302 enableand/or otherwise turn on the laser 308 to scan the scene 328 of FIG. 3 .The ECU(s) 302 may determine that the scene 328 is indicative ofnighttime. For example, the ECU(s) 302 may determine that the scene 328is an environment during the nighttime based on a timestamp (e.g., atime of day), a measurement from a light sensor of the vehicle 102, etc.In such examples, the ECU(s) 302 may turn on and/or otherwise enable anillumination source, such as the light source 316, which may be neededduring nighttime operation. The light source 316, when enabled, mayilluminate the biconic mirror 324, which reflects and/or otherwisesteers the illumination to the SLM 318.

In example operation, the ECU(s) 302 may generate and transmitcommand(s) to the SLM controller 320 to operate the first vehicleimaging system 300 in a nighttime operating mode (e.g., a nighttimeheadlight operating mode). The SLM controller 320 may determine that thescene 328 is an environment during the nighttime based on the command(s)from the ECU(s) 302.

In example operation, the SLM controller 320 may control the SLM 318 toreflect light from the light source 316 onto the scene 328 to improvenighttime visibility for an operator of the vehicle 102. For example,the SLM controller 320 may adjust an optical path associated with thefirst vehicle imaging system 300 by configuring a degree state of one(s)of the micromirrors of the SLM 318 to reflect light from the lightsource 316 onto the scene 328 through the projection lens. For example,the SLM controller 320 may control first one(s) of the micromirrors ofthe SLM 318 to reflect light from the light source 316 through theprojection lens 322. The SLM controller 320 may control second one(s) ofthe micromirrors of the SLM 318 to reflect the light from the lightsource 316 away from the projection lens 322. For example, the SLMcontroller 320 may obtain a command from the ECU(s) 302 to cause theprojection of light based on a structured light pattern. In suchexamples, the SLM controller 320 may determine positions of the firstone(s) and the second one(s) of the micromirrors to generate thestructured light pattern of the projected light. Advantageously, the SLMcontroller 320 may project a known light pattern onto the scene 328 tosupport the determination of 3-D data associated with the scene 328 orportion(s) thereof based on a measured distortion of the known lightpattern, which may be captured by the camera 304.

In example operation, the first vehicle imaging system 300 may operatethe LIDAR system 108 of FIG. 1 by receiving infrared light from thelaser 308 that is reflected off of portion(s) of the scene 328 with thesecond detector 314. In example operation, the second detector 314detects the portion(s) of the scene 328 and transmits the detectedportion(s) to the ECU(s) 302. The ECU(s) 302 may generate environmentdetection information based on the detected portion(s) and transmit theenvironment detection information to the HUD 202 of FIG. 2 for displayto an operator of the vehicle 102 and/or for further processing. Inexample operation, the ECU(s) 302 ignore and/or otherwise drop data fromthe first detector 312 because the first detector 312 may be saturatedwith light from the light source 316. Advantageously, the SLM controller320 may utilize the SLM 318 to improve operation of the adaptiveheadlight system 110 of FIG. 1 and/or the LIDAR system 108 of FIG. 1during nighttime operation by improving nighttime visibility for anoperator of the vehicle 102 while supporting detection functions of theLIDAR system 108.

In example operation, the camera 304 may capture an image, sequentialimages (e.g., video), etc., of the scene 328 to generate 2-D data. Forexample, the SLM 318 may be controlled to project a known light patternonto the scene 328. The camera 304 may capture a first image of theknown light pattern at a first time, a second image at a second timeafter the first time, etc., and transmit the images to the ECU(s) 302.The ECU(s) 302 may generate 3-D data, such as a distance of an object inthe scene 328, by measuring a distortion of the known light patternindicated by the 2-D data based on one or more of the images captured bythe camera 304.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a second example vehicle imaging system 500to facilitate control of the vehicle 102 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 duringdaytime operation. In some examples, the second vehicle imaging system500 implements the first headlight 104 of FIG. 1 , the second headlight105 of FIG. 1 , and/or the first vehicle imaging system 300 of FIGS. 3-4.

The second vehicle imaging system 500 includes an example imagingcontroller 502, which includes and/or otherwise implements an exampleLIDAR controller 504, an example operating mode determiner 506, anexample adaptive headlight controller 508, an example camera controller510, and example storage 512. In some examples, the imaging controller502 implements the ECU(s) 106 of FIGS. 1-4 or portion(s) thereof.

The second vehicle imaging system 500 includes an example laser driver514, an example laser mirror 515, an example laser 516, an example SLM518, which includes and/or otherwise implements an example micromirrorarray 519, an example dichroic filter 520, a first example detector 524,a second example detector 525, a first example trans-impedance amplifier(TIA) 526, a second example TIA 528, an example multiplexer 530, anexample converter 532, an example SLM controller 534, an example SLMpower management integrated circuit (PMIC) 536, an example light sourcedriver 538, an example illumination source 540, and an example camera542.

Output terminal(s) of the imaging controller 502 is/are coupled to aninput terminal of the laser driver 514. Output terminal(s) of the laserdriver 514 is/are coupled to an input terminal of the laser 516. Thelaser driver 514 is a power supply. For example, the laser driver 514may be implemented by a driver (e.g., a current driver, a gate driver,etc.) that drives a field-effect transistor (FET) (e.g., a galliumnitride FET, a silicon FET, etc.) to provide a current to the laser 516.The laser 516 is a diode. For example, the laser 516 may be implementedwith a laser diode, an injection laser diode, a diode laser, etc.,which, when pumped directly with electrical current, may create lasingconditions at the diode's junction. In some examples, the laser driver514 and/or the laser 516 implement(s) an IR laser. In some examples, thelaser driver 514, the laser mirror 515, and/or the laser 516implement(s) the LIDAR system 108 of FIGS. 1-2 , the laser 116 of FIGS.1-4 , or portion(s) thereof. In this example, the laser 516 is inoptical communication (e.g., optically coupled) to the laser mirror 515.

Input terminal(s) of one(s) of the micromirror(s) of the micromirrorarray, 519 and/or, more generally, the SLM 518 is/are coupled to outputterminal(s) of the SLM controller 534 and output terminal(s) of the SLMPMIC 536. In some examples, the micromirror array 519, and/or, moregenerally, the SLM 518 implement the SLM 126 of FIG. 1 and/or the SLM318 of FIGS. 3-4 . The micromirror array 519 may be implemented by anarray of highly reflective micromirrors (e.g., aluminum micromirrors ormicromirrors implemented with any other type of reflective material) toeffectuate high-speed, efficient, and reliable spatial light modulation(e.g., reflective phase modulation) with individually addressablepixels.

Output terminal(s) (e.g., controller output terminal(s)) of the SLMcontroller 534 is/are coupled to input terminal(s) of the SLM PMIC 536and input terminal(s) (e.g., light source driver input terminal(s)) ofthe light source 538. Output terminal(s) (e.g., light source driveroutput terminal(s)) of the light source 538 is/are coupled to inputterminal(s) (e.g., light source terminal(s)) of the light source 540.Input terminal(s) (e.g., controller input terminal(s)) of the SLMcontroller 534 is/are coupled to output terminal(s) of the imagingcontroller 502.

The SLM PMIC 536 is a power supply that may be implemented by a powerintegrated circuit (IC). For example, the SLM PMIC 536 may beimplemented with a high-voltage regulator that generates controlvoltage(s) for one(s) of the micromirror array 519. In such examples,the SLM PMIC 536 may generate a first control voltage of −10 V directcurrent (DC), a second control voltage of +8.5 V DC, a third controlvoltage of +16 V DC, etc.

In some examples, the SLM controller 534 may be implemented usinghardware logic, machine readable instructions stored in a non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium, hardware implemented state machines,etc., and/or a combination thereof. For example, the SLM controller 534may be implemented by one or more analog or digital circuit(s), logiccircuits, programmable processor(s), programmable controller(s),application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logicdevice(s) (PLD(s)), and/or field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)).In some examples, the SLM controller 534 implements the SLM controller128 of FIG. 1 and/or the SLM controller 320 of FIGS. 3-4 .

The light source driver 538 is a power supply. For example, the lightsource driver 538 may be implemented with a power regulator thatregulates and supplies a desired current to an illumination source, suchas the light source 540. The light source 540 is a white LED.Alternatively, the light source 540 may be any other type of LED. Insome examples, the light source 540 implements the light source 124 ofFIG. 1 and/or the light source 316 of FIGS. 3-4 . Alternatively, thelight source 540 may be implemented with a non-LED light or illuminationsource (e.g., a gas discharge lamp such as a Xenon bulb, a CFL, ahalogen lamp, etc.).

The micromirror array 519, and/or, more generally, the SLM 518, isoptically coupled with at least one of the dichroic filter 520, thefirst detector 524, or the light source 540. For example, first one(s)of micromirror(s) of the micromirror array 519 may be controlled by theSLM controller 534 to reflect light through the dichroic filter 520 tothe first detector 524. In such examples, second one(s) ofmicromirror(s) of the micromirror array 519 may be controlled by the SLMcontroller 534 to reflect light away from the first detector 524. Thefirst detector 524 is an avalanche photodiode. Alternatively, the firstdetector 524 may be an SiPM or a MPPC. In some examples, the firstdetector 524 implements the first detector 120 of FIG. 1 and/or thefirst detector 312 of FIGS. 3-4 . Alternatively, the first detector 524may implement the second detector 122 of FIG. 1 and/or the seconddetector 314 of FIGS. 3-4 .

Output terminal(s) of the first detector 524 is/are coupled to inputterminal(s) (e.g., amplifier input terminal(s), TIA input terminal(s),etc.) of the first TIA 526. The first TIA 526 may be implemented withone or more operational amplifiers to implement a current-to-voltageconverter. Output terminal(s) (e.g., amplifier output terminal(s), TIAoutput terminal(s), etc.) of the first TIA 526 is/are coupled to inputterminal(s) (e.g., multiplexer input terminal(s)) of the multiplexer530. Output terminal(s) (e.g., multiplexer output terminal(s)) of themultiplexer 530 is/are coupled to input terminal(s) (e.g., converterinput terminal(s)) of the converter 532. Output terminal(s) (e.g.,converter output terminal(s)) of the converter 532 are coupled to inputterminal(s) of the imaging controller 502. Output terminal(s) (e.g.,controller output terminal(s)) of the imaging controller 502 are coupledto control or selection input terminal(s) (e.g., multiplexer controlterminal(s), multiplexer selection terminal(s), etc.) of the multiplexer530.

Output terminal(s) of the second detector 525 is/are coupled to inputterminal(s) of the second TIA 528. Output terminal(s) of the second TIA528 is/are coupled to input terminal(s) of the multiplexer 530. Thesecond detector 525 is configured to detect light from an environment,such as the environments 100, 200 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 and/or the scene328 of FIG. 3 . The second detector 525 is an avalanche photodiode.Alternatively, the second detector 525 may be an SiPM or a MPPC. In someexamples, the second detector 525 implements the second detector 122 ofFIG. 1 and/or the second detector 314 of FIGS. 3-4 . Alternatively, thesecond detector 525 may implement the first detector 120 of FIG. 1and/or the first detector 312 of FIGS. 3-4 . The second TIA 528 may beimplemented with one or more operational amplifiers to implement acurrent-to-voltage converter.

Terminal(s) (e.g., input terminal(s), output terminal(s), etc.) of thecamera 542 is/are coupled to terminal(s) (e.g., input terminal(s),output terminal(s), etc.) of the imaging controller 502. In someexamples, the camera 542 implements the camera 112 of FIGS. 1-4 .

In this example, the imaging controller 502 includes the operating modedeterminer 506 to determine a headlight operating mode based on at leastone of time data, environmental data, or user control data. For example,the operating mode determiner 506 may determine whether the operatingmode of the second vehicle imaging system 500 is to be a nighttimeoperating mode (e.g., a reduced lighting operating mode) or a daytimeoperating mode (e.g., an increased lighting operating mode). In suchexamples, the operating mode determiner 506 may determine whether theoperating mode is a nighttime or daytime operating mode based on atimestamp, a measurement from a light sensor monitoring an environment,or a vehicle command from an operator of the vehicle 102 that includesthe second vehicle imaging system 500. In some examples, the operatingmode determiner 506 stores at least one of the operating mode, the timedata, the environmental data, or the user control data in the storage512.

The imaging controller 502 includes the LIDAR controller 504 to generate3-D data associated with an object, an environment, etc., of interest.In some examples, the LIDAR controller 504 controls the laser driver 514to cause the laser 516 to transmit light (e.g., IR light) to the object,the environment, etc., of interest. The LIDAR controller 504 maygenerate 3-D data associated with an object, such as a building, avehicle, a pedestrian, an animal, etc., of the first environment 100 ofFIG. 1 , the scene 328 of FIGS. 3-4 , etc., based on the digitalsignal(s) received from the converter 532. In example daytime operation,a reflection of the transmitted light may be received by the micromirrorarray 519, which is reflected through the dichroic filter 520 to thefirst detector 524.

The imaging controller 502 includes the adaptive headlight controller508 to configure optical path(s) associated with a headlight based on anoperating mode of the headlight. In some examples, the adaptiveheadlight controller 508 configures one or more optical paths associatedwith the headlight 104 of FIGS. 1-2 for the nighttime headlightoperating mode, which is described below in connection with FIG. 6 . Insome examples, the adaptive headlight controller 508 configures one ormore optical paths associated with the headlight 104 of FIGS. 1-2 forthe daytime headlight operating mode. In such examples, the adaptiveheadlight controller 508 may transmit command(s) to the SLM controller534 to adjust position(s) of one(s) of the micromirror array 519 toreflect light either towards to or away from the first detector 524. Forexample, the adaptive headlight controller 508 may adjust theposition(s) to track and/or otherwise correspond to a field-of-view thatthe laser 516 is scanning and thereby be in position to receive thereflections of the laser 516 from the environment. In some examples, theadaptive headlight controller 508 stores position data (e.g., a+/−degree state of a first micromirror, a +/−degree state of a secondmicromirror, etc., of the micromirror array 519) associated with one(s)of the micromirror array 519 in the storage 512.

In example daytime operation, the LIDAR controller 504 may select aninput of the multiplexer 530 that corresponds to the output terminal(s)of the first detector 524. The first TIA 526 converts a current outputof the first detector 524 to a voltage and provides the voltage to themultiplexer 530. The multiplexer 530 may provide the voltage to theconverter 532 for processing.

In some examples, the converter 532 is an analog-to-digital converter(ADC) that converts the voltage from the multiplexer 530 to a digitalsignal (e.g., a digital representation of the voltage) and provides thedigital signal to the LIDAR controller 504, and/or, more generally, theimaging controller 502, to support the generation of the 3-D data. Insome examples, the converter 532 is a time-to-digital converter (TDC)that converts the voltage from the multiplexer 530 to a digital signal(e.g., a digital representation of the time the voltage is generated)and provides the digital signal to the LIDAR controller 504, and/or,more generally, the imaging controller 502, to support the generation ofthe 3-D data. In some examples, the LIDAR controller 504 stores thedigital signal(s) from the converter 532 and/or the 3-D data in thestorage 512.

The imaging controller 502 includes the camera controller 510 to captureimages of an object, an environment, etc., of interest. In exampledaytime operation, the camera controller 510 may instruct the camera 542to take a first image of the environment. In some examples, the cameracontroller 510 may obtain a second image of the environment taken atsubstantially the same time as the first time from another instance ofthe camera 542 (e.g., a camera in a different headlight of the vehicle102). The camera controller 510 may generate a stereo image or stereoimage data based on the first image and the second image. In someexamples, the camera controller 510 may instruct the different instanceof the camera 542 to capture the second image substantially at the sametime that the camera 542 of FIG. 5 captures the first image to supportgeneration of the stereo image. Advantageously, the camera controller510 may generate 3-D data associated with an object, an environment,etc., of interest during daytime operation based on images captured byone(s) of the camera 542 by generating stereo images.

The imaging controller 502 includes the storage 512 to record data. Forexample, the storage 512 may record 3-D data, micromirror position data,image data, stereo image data, an operating mode, time data,environmental data, user control data, etc., and/or a combinationthereof. The storage 512 may be implemented by a volatile memory (e.g.,a Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic RandomAccess Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM), etc.)and/or a non-volatile memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), electricallyerasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, etc.).The storage 512 may additionally or alternatively be implemented by oneor more double data rate (DDR) memories, such as DDR, DDR2, DDR3, DDR4,mobile DDR (mDDR), etc. The storage 512 may additionally oralternatively be implemented by one or more mass storage devices such ashard disk drive(s), compact disk drive(s), digital versatile diskdrive(s), solid-state disk drive(s), etc. While in the illustratedexample the storage 512 is illustrated as a single storage, the storage512 may be implemented by any number and/or type(s) of storage.Furthermore, the data stored in the storage 512 may be in any dataformat such as, for example, binary data, comma delimited data, tabdelimited data, structured query language (SQL) structures, etc.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of the second vehicle imaging system 500 ofFIG. 5 to facilitate control of the vehicle 102 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2during nighttime operation. In example nighttime operation, the LIDARcontroller 504 invokes the laser driver 514 to turn on the laser 516 toscan an object, an environment, etc., of interest. In example nighttimeoperation, the operating mode determiner 506 may determine that theoperating mode of the second vehicle imaging system 500 is to be anighttime operating mode (e.g., a reduced lighting operating mode) basedon a timestamp (e.g., a time of day indicating that it is nighttime orafter dusk, sunset, etc.), a measurement from a light sensor monitoringan environment, or a vehicle command from an operator of the vehicle 102that includes the second vehicle imaging system 500.

In some examples, the adaptive headlight controller 508 and/or thecamera controller 510 may determine that the operating mode is thenighttime operating mode by receiving the indication of the operatingmode from the operating mode determiner 506 or by retrieving theoperating mode from the storage 512. Based on the nighttime operatingmode, the adaptive headlight controller 508 may direct the SLMcontroller 534 to invoke the light source driver 538 to turn on thelight source 540. Based on the nighttime operating mode, the adaptiveheadlight controller 508 may invoke the SLM controller 534 to adjustone(s) of the micromirror array 519 to project light from the lightsource 540 to the environment.

In example nighttime operation, the second detector 525 may receiveand/or otherwise detect light reflected by the environment from themicromirror array 519. The LIDAR controller 504 may select an input ofthe multiplexer 530 that corresponds to the output terminal(s) of thesecond detector 525. The second TIA 528 may convert a current output ofthe second detector 525 to a voltage and provide the voltage to themultiplexer 530. The multiplexer 530 may provide the voltage to theconverter 532 for processing.

The converter 532 may convert the voltage from the multiplexer 530 to adigital signal (e.g., a digital representation of the voltage, a timeassociated with the voltage, etc.) and provide the digital signal to theLIDAR controller 504, and/or, more generally, the imaging controller502, to support the generation of the 3-D data. In example nighttimeoperation, the camera controller 510 directs the camera 542 to captureimages of an object, an environment, etc., of interest. For example, theadaptive headlight controller 508 may instruct the SLM controller 534 tocause the micromirror array 519 to project light based on a structuredlight pattern. In such examples, the camera controller 510 may instructthe camera 542 to take an image of the environment, which may includeobjects having the structured light pattern on their surfaces. Thecamera controller 510 may generate 3-D data by determining distortion(s)of the structured light pattern on the object(s) in the image.

While an example manner of implementing the first headlight 104 of FIG.1 , the second headlight 105 of FIG. 1 , and/or the first vehicleimaging system 300 of FIGS. 3-4 is illustrated in FIGS. 5-6 , one ormore of the elements, processes and/or devices illustrated in FIGS. 5-6may be combined, divided, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/orimplemented in any other way. Further, the example LIDAR controller 504,the example operating mode determiner 506, the example adaptiveheadlight controller 508, the example camera controller 510, the examplestorage 512, and/or, more generally, the example imaging controller 502,the example laser driver 514, the example laser 516, the example SLM518, the example micromirror array 519, the example dichroic filter 520,the first example detector 524, the second example detector 524, thefirst example TIA 526, the second example TIA 528, the examplemultiplexer 530, the example converter 532, the example SLM controller534, the example SLM PMIC 536, the example light source driver 538, theexample illumination source 540, the example camera 542, and/or, moregenerally, the example second imaging system 500 of FIG. 5 may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware and/or any combination ofhardware, software and/or firmware. Thus, for example, any of theexample LIDAR controller 504, the example operating mode determiner 506,the example adaptive headlight controller 508, the example cameracontroller 510, the example storage 512, and/or, more generally, theexample imaging controller 502, the example laser driver 514, theexample laser 516, the example SLM 518, the example micromirror array519, the example dichroic filter 520, the first example detector 524,the second example detector 524, the first example TIA 526, the secondexample TIA 528, the example multiplexer 530, the example converter 532,the example SLM controller 534, the example SLM PMIC 536, the examplelight source driver 538, the example illumination source 540, theexample camera 542, and/or, more generally, the example second imagingsystem 500 could be implemented by one or more analog or digitalcircuit(s), logic circuits, programmable processor(s), programmablecontroller(s), graphics processing unit(s) (GPU(s)), digital signalprocessor(s) (DSP(s)), ASIC(s), PLD(s), and/or FPLD(s). When reading anyof the apparatus or system claims of this patent to cover a purelysoftware and/or firmware implementation, at least one of the exampleLIDAR controller 504, the example operating mode determiner 506, theexample adaptive headlight controller 508, the example camera controller510, the example storage 512, and/or, more generally, the exampleimaging controller 502, the example laser driver 514, the first exampleTIA 526, the second example TIA 528, the example multiplexer 530, theexample converter 532, the example SLM controller 534, the example SLMPMIC 536, the example light source driver 538, the example illuminationsource 540, and/or the example camera 542 is/are hereby expresslydefined to include a non-transitory computer readable storage device orstorage disk such as a memory, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a compactdisk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc., including the software and/or firmware.Further still, the first headlight 104 of FIG. 1 , the second headlight105 of FIG. 1 , and/or the first vehicle imaging system 300 of FIGS. 3-4may include one or more elements, processes and/or devices in additionto, or instead of, those illustrated in FIG. 5 , and/or may include morethan one of any or all of the illustrated elements, processes anddevices. As used herein, the phrase “in communication,” includingvariations thereof, encompasses direct communication and/or indirectcommunication through one or more intermediary components, and does notrequire direct physical (e.g., wired) communication and/or constantcommunication, but rather additionally includes selective communicationat periodic intervals, scheduled intervals, aperiodic intervals, and/orone-time events.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of example adaptive headlights 700, 702generating an example light pattern 704 onto an example object 706 of anexample environment 708. For example, the adaptive headlights 700, 702of FIG. 7 may implement one(s) of the headlights 104, 105 of FIGS. 1and/or 2 , the first vehicle imaging system 300 of FIGS. 3-4 , and/orthe second vehicle imaging system 500 of FIGS. 5-6 . The adaptiveheadlights 700, 702 include a first example adaptive headlight 700 and asecond example adaptive headlight 702. In this example, the lightpattern 704 is a structured light pattern implemented by vertical barsof light. For example, the light pattern 704 may be implemented with aspatially varying 2-D structured illumination generated by a lightsource or projector modulated by an SLM, such as the micromirror array519, and/or, more generally, the SLM 518 of FIGS. 5-6 .

In some examples, the adaptive headlights 700, 702 include themicromirror array 519, and/or, more generally, the SLM 518 of FIGS. 5-6. In such examples, the SLM controller 534 may control first one(s) ofthe micromirror array 519 to project light from the light source 540 ofthe first adaptive headlight 700 to the object 706 and control secondone(s) of the micromirror array 519 to reflect light from the lightsource 540 away from the object 706 to generate the light pattern 704depicted in FIG. 7 . In some such examples, the SLM controller 534 maycontrol first one(s) of the micromirror array 519 to project light fromthe light source 540 of the second adaptive headlight 702 to the object706 and control second one(s) of the micromirror array 519 to reflectlight from the light source 540 away from the object 706 to generate thelight pattern 704 depicted in FIG. 7 .

The adaptive headlights 700, 702 may acquire and/or otherwise capture a2-D image of the object 706, and/or, more generally, the environment 708under the structured-light illumination depicted in FIG. 7 . Forexample, the adaptive headlights 700, 702 may include the camera 542 ofFIGS. 5-6 to capture one or more 2-D images of the object 706. In thisexample, the object 706 has non-planar surfaces and, thus, the geometricshapes of the non-planar surfaces distort the light pattern 704 asviewed from the camera 542. Advantageously, the adaptive headlights 700,702 may extract and/or otherwise identify a 3-D surface shape of theobject 706 based on the data from the distortion of the projectedstructured-light pattern. For example, the adaptive headlights 700, 702may determine a 3-D surface profile, shape, etc., of the object 706using triangulation-based 3-D imaging techniques including a sequentialprojection technique, a continuous varying pattern technique, a stripeindexing technique, a grid indexing technique, etc., and/or acombination thereof.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a first example light pattern 802 that maybe generated by the adaptive headlights 700, 702 of FIG. 7 . Forexample, the first light pattern 802 may be generated by the headlights104, 105 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the first vehicle imaging system 300 ofFIGS. 3-4 , and/or the second vehicle imaging system 500 of FIGS. 5-6 .

The first light pattern 802 is a structured light pattern implemented byvertical bars of light. Alternatively, the first light pattern 802 maybe implemented using any other pattern of light, such as horizontalbars, a grid, etc. Advantageously, the first light pattern 802 has amajority of the pixels on (e.g., pixels corresponding to ones of themicromirror array 519 of FIGS. 5-6 ) to reduce light loss in headlightfunctionality because structured light patterns and headlight patternsare time multiplexed. For example, the first light pattern 802 has morepixels on compared to a second example light pattern 804.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a third example light pattern 902, a fourthexample light pattern 904, and a fifth example light pattern 906 thatmay be generated by the adaptive headlights 700, 702 of FIG. 7 . Forexample, the third light pattern 902, the fourth light pattern 904,and/or the fifth light pattern 906 may be generated by the headlights104, 105 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the first vehicle imaging system 300 ofFIGS. 3-4 , and/or the second vehicle imaging system 500 of FIGS. 5-6 .

The third light pattern 902, the fourth light pattern 904, and the fifthlight pattern 906 are structured light patterns implemented by verticalbars of light. Alternatively, one or more of the third light pattern902, the fourth light pattern 904, and/or the fifth light pattern 906may be implemented using any other pattern of light, such as horizontalbars, a grid, etc.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 9 , the adaptive headlights 700, 702may generate the third light pattern 902 at a first time, the fourthlight pattern 904 at a second time after the first time, and the fifthlight pattern 906 at a third time after the second time. In thisexample, the third light pattern 902, the fourth light pattern 904, andthe fifth light pattern 906 have the same pattern but each are laterallyshifted from a previous light pattern. Advantageously, the adaptiveheadlights 700, 702 may laterally shift the light patterns 902, 904, 906to avoid bright and dark spots from reducing efficiency in processingcamera images of the light patterns 902, 904, 906.

FIG. 10 is a first timing diagram 1000 of a first example implementationof generating example structured light patterns 1002, 1004, 1006 thatmay be generated by the adaptive headlights 700, 702 of FIG. 7 . Forexample, the structured light patterns 1002, 1004, 1006 may be generatedby the headlights 104, 105 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the first vehicleimaging system 300 of FIGS. 3-4 , and/or the second vehicle imagingsystem 500 of FIGS. 5-6 . The structured light patterns 1002, 1004, 1006include a first example structured light pattern 1002, a second examplestructured light pattern 1004, and a third example structured lightpattern 1006, which are structured light patterns implemented byvertical bars of light. For example, the first structured light pattern1002 includes a first vertical bar that is dark or absence of lightfollowed by a second vertical bar that is light filled. The secondstructured light pattern 1004 includes a first vertical bar that is darkor absence of light, followed by a second vertical bar that is lightfilled, a third vertical bar that is dark, and a fourth vertical barthat is light filled. The third structured light pattern 1006 includes afirst vertical bar of darkness, followed by a second light vertical barof light, a third vertical bar of darkness, a fourth vertical bar oflight, a fifth vertical bar of darkness, a sixth vertical bar of light,a seventh vertical bar of darkness, and an eighth vertical bar of light.Alternatively, one or more of the first structured light pattern 1002,the second structured light pattern 1004, and/or the third structuredlight pattern 1006 may be implemented using any other pattern of light,such as horizontal bars, a grid, etc.

In this example, the first adaptive headlight 700 and/or the secondadaptive headlight 702 may generate the structured light patterns 1002,1004, 1006 based on a geometric sequence (e.g., a number of verticalbars of light=2^(N), where N is the sequence number). For example, thefirst adaptive headlight 700 may implement the first structured lightpattern 1002 by controlling first micromirror(s) of the micromirrorarray 519 to reflect light from the light source 540 away from the scene328 to create the first vertical bar of darkness and controlling secondmicromirror(s) of the micromirror array 519 to reflect light from thelight source 540 to the scene 328 to create the first vertical bar oflight (e.g., 1 bar of light=2⁰). The first adaptive headlight 700 mayimplement the second structured light pattern 1004 with at least twovertical bars of light (e.g., 2 bars of light=2¹). The first adaptiveheadlight 700 may implement the third structured light pattern 1006 withat least four bars of light (e.g., 4 bars of light=2²).

The vertical bars of light and the vertical bars of darkness havedifferent widths in the structured light patterns 1002, 1004, 1006. Inthe first structured light pattern 1002, a first width of the firstvertical bar of light is substantially the same as a second width of thefirst vertical bar of darkness. In the second structured light pattern1004, third widths of the vertical bars of light are narrower and/orotherwise different from fourth widths of the vertical bars of darkness.In the third structured light pattern 1006, fifth widths of the verticalbars of light are narrower and/or otherwise different from sixth widthsof the vertical bars of darkness. In this example, the first width isgreater than the third widths and the fifth widths. In this example, thesecond width is greater than the fourth widths and the sixth widths.

Advantageously, the adaptive headlights 700, 702 may use fewer patternsfor high resolution by implementing the geometric sequence. The adaptiveheadlights 700, 702 may avoid motion blur artifacts by effectuatingrelatively fast exposure times and enforcing the dependency inprocessing from one pattern to another. In some examples, the adaptiveheadlights 700, 702 may reduce the maximum headlight brightness byapproximately 50% while the structured light patterns 1002, 1004, 1004are being projected and/or otherwise enabled.

During a first example time 1008, the first adaptive headlight 700 mayreflect and/or otherwise project the first structured light pattern 1002onto an object (e.g., the object 706 of FIG. 7 ), an environment (e.g.,the environment 708 of FIG. 7 ), etc. During a second example time 1010,the first adaptive headlight 700 may reflect and/or otherwise projectthe second structured light pattern 1004 onto the object, theenvironment, etc. During a third example time 1012, the first adaptiveheadlight 700 may reflect and/or otherwise project the third structuredlight pattern 1006 onto the object, the environment, etc. In thisexample, the first time 1008, the second time 1010, and the third time1012 are each 100 microseconds (us). Alternatively, the first time 1008,the second time 1010, and/or the third time 1012 may be different than100 us. In some examples, one(s) of the first time 1008, the second time1010, and the third time 1012 correspond to a camera exposure time, aSLM load time, etc. For example, each of the first time 1008, the secondtime 1010, and the third time 1012 may correspond to the exposure timeof the camera 542 of FIGS. 5-6 , the load time of one(s) of themicromirror(s) of the micromirror array 519 of FIGS. 5-6 , etc. In someexamples, one or more of the first time 1008, the second time 1010,and/or the third time 1012 may be 50 us, 100 us, 150 us, etc., induration.

In the first timing diagram 1000, the first adaptive headlight 700 mayproject example headlight pattern(s) 1014 during a fourth example time1016. For example, the headlight pattern(s) 1014 may implement one ormore headlight patterns. In such examples, the headlight pattern(s) 1014may correspond to the first headlight pattern 204 of FIG. 2 and/or thesecond headlight pattern 206 of FIG. 2 . In some examples, after thefourth time 1016, the first adaptive headlight 700 may execute anotheriteration of the first timing diagram 1000 by projecting the firststructured light pattern 1002 for a time period corresponding to thefirst time 1008. In this example, a sum of the first through fourthtimes 1008, 1010, 1012, 1016 represent an example frame time 1018 of thefirst adaptive headlight 700. For example, the frame time 1018 may be120 Hertz (Hz) or approximately 8.3 milliseconds (ms). Alternatively,the frame time 1018 may be any other frequency or amount of time.

FIG. 11 is a second timing diagram 1100 of a second exampleimplementation of generating example structured light patterns 1102,1104 that may be generated by the adaptive headlights 700, 702 of FIG. 7. For example, the structured light patterns 1102, 1104 may be generatedby the headlights 104, 105 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the first vehicleimaging system 300 of FIGS. 3-4 , and/or the second vehicle imagingsystem 500 of FIGS. 5-6 . The structured light patterns 1102, 1104include a first example structured light pattern 1102 and a secondexample structured light pattern 1104, which are structured lightpatterns implemented by vertical bars of light. Alternatively, the firststructured light pattern 1102 and/or the second structured light pattern1104 may be implemented using any other pattern of light, such ashorizontal bars, a grid, etc.

In this example, the first adaptive headlight 700 may generate thestructured light patterns 1102, 1104 as high saturation, one-shotstructured light patterns. For example, the first adaptive headlight 700may project the first structured light pattern 1102 during a firstexample time 1106, example headlight pattern(s) 1108 during a secondexample time 1110, the second structured light pattern 1104 during athird example time 1112, and the headlight pattern(s) 1108 during afourth example time 1114. Advantageously, the adaptive headlights 700,702 may increase the camera exposure time compared to the first timingdiagram 1000 of FIG. 10 while still reducing motion blur artifactsbecause there is no pattern dependency like the binary pattern depictedin FIG. 10 . Advantageously, the adaptive headlights 700, 702 mayeffectuate less reduction in the maximum headlight brightness while thestructured light patterns 1102, 1104 are on compared to the first timingdiagram 1000. In some examples, less resolution and more patterns areneeded to achieve the same resolution as traditional patterns whileusing the high saturation, one-shot structured light patterns depictedin FIG. 11 .

The headlight pattern(s) 1108 may implement one or more headlightpatterns. In such examples, the headlight pattern(s) 1108 may correspondto the first headlight pattern 204 of FIG. 2 and/or the second headlightpattern 206 of FIG. 2 . In some examples, the headlight pattern(s) 1108during the second time 1110 are different from the headlight pattern(s)1108 during the fourth time 1114.

In some examples, after the fourth time 1114, the first adaptiveheadlight 700 may execute another iteration of the second timing diagram1100 by projecting the first structured light pattern 1102 for a timeperiod corresponding to the first time 1106. In this example, a sum ofthe first through fourth times 1106, 1110, 1112, 1114 represent anexample frame time 1116 of the first adaptive headlight 700. Forexample, the frame time 1116 may be 120 Hertz (Hz) or approximately 8.3milliseconds (ms). Alternatively, the frame time 1116 of the secondtiming diagram 1100 may be any other frequency or amount of time.

An example day and night use model associated with the headlights 104,105 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the first vehicle imaging system 300 of FIGS.3-4 , the second example vehicle imaging system 500 of FIGS. 5-6 ,and/or the adaptive headlights 700, 702 of FIG. 7 is below in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Adaptive Headlight Day and Night Use Model NIGHTTIME OPERATINGHARDWARE DAYTIME OPERATING MODE MODE HEADLIGHT OFF ON, OPTICAL PATHINCLUDES LIGHT SOURCE AND SLM LIDAR ON, OPTICAL PATH INCLUDES ON,OPTICAL PATH SLM AND FIRST DETECTOR INCLUDES SECOND DETECTOR CAMERA ON,CAPTURES IMAGES FOR ON, CAPTURES IMAGES STEREO IMAGING FOR 3-D DATAGENERATION GENERATION BASED ON STRUCTURED LIGHT PATTERNS SPATIAL LIGHTON, SUPPORTS AMBIENT LIGHT ON, TIME MULTIPLEXES MODULATOR REJECTION FORLIDAR HEADLIGHT AND (SLM) STRUCTURED LIGHT PATTERNS FIRST USED, SUPPORTSLIDAR NOT USED DETECTOR SECOND NOT USED USED, SUPPORTS LIDAR DETECTOR

For example, the headlights 104, 105 may be turned off during daytimebecause they may not be needed and may be turned on during nighttime.The LIDAR system 108 of FIG. 1 may be turned on during daytime with afirst optical path that includes the SLM 126 and the first detector 120of FIG. 1 . The LIDAR system 108 may be turned on during nighttime witha second optical path that includes the second detector 122 of FIG. 1 .The camera 112 of FIG. 1 may be turned on during daytime to captureimages to support stereo imaging generation. The camera 112 may beturned on during nighttime to capture images for 3-D data generationbased on structured light patterns.

In the example of Table 1 above, the SLM 126 may be turned on duringdaytime to support ambient light rejection for the LIDAR system 108. TheSLM 126 may be turned on during nighttime to time multiplex headlightand structured light patterns, as described above in connection with thetiming diagrams 1000, 1100 of FIGS. 10 and/or 11 . The first detector120 may be used during daytime to support the LIDAR system 108 bydetecting reflected IR light from an object, an environment, etc., ofinterest. The first detector 120 may not be used during nighttime. Thesecond detector 122 may not be used during daytime. The second detector122 may be used during nighttime to support the LIDAR system 108 bydetecting reflected IR from an object, an environment, etc., ofinterest. Advantageously, the headlights 104, 105 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 ,the first vehicle imaging system 300 of FIGS. 3-4 , the second examplevehicle imaging system 500 of FIGS. 5-6 , and/or the adaptive headlights700, 702 of FIG. 7 may effectuate different imaging functions, tasks,etc., by using the same hardware, software, firmware, and/or combinationthereof and/or portions thereof.

Flowcharts representative of example hardware logic, machine readableinstructions, hardware implemented state machines, and/or anycombination thereof for implementing the example imaging controller 502of FIG. 5 are shown in FIGS. 12A-15 . The machine readable instructionsmay be one or more executable programs or portion(s) of an executableprogram for execution by a computer processor and/or processorcircuitry, such as the processor 1612 shown in the example processorplatform 1600 discussed below in connection with FIG. 16 . The programmay be embodied in software stored on a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, a DVD, aBlu-ray disk, or a memory associated with the processor 1612, but theentire program and/or parts thereof could alternatively be executed by adevice other than the processor 1612 and/or embodied in firmware ordedicated hardware. Further, although the example program is describedwith reference to the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 12A-15 , manyother methods of implementing the example imaging controller 502 mayalternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocksmay be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed,eliminated, or combined. Additionally or alternatively, any or all ofthe blocks may be implemented by one or more hardware circuits (e.g.,discrete and/or integrated analog and/or digital circuitry, an FPGA, anASIC, a comparator, an operational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit,etc.) structured to perform the corresponding operation withoutexecuting software or firmware. The processor circuitry may bedistributed in different network locations and/or local to one or moredevices (e.g., a multi-core processor in a single machine, multipleprocessors distributed across a server rack, etc.).

The machine readable instructions described herein may be stored in oneor more of a compressed format, an encrypted format, a fragmentedformat, a compiled format, an executable format, a packaged format, etc.Machine readable instructions as described herein may be stored as dataor a data structure (e.g., portions of instructions, code,representations of code, etc.) that may be utilized to create,manufacture, and/or produce machine executable instructions. Forexample, the machine readable instructions may be fragmented and storedon one or more storage devices and/or computing devices (e.g., servers)located at the same or different locations of a network or collection ofnetworks (e.g., in the cloud, in edge devices, etc.). The machinereadable instructions may require one or more of installation,modification, adaptation, updating, combining, supplementing,configuring, decryption, decompression, unpacking, distribution,reassignment, compilation, etc., in order to make them directlyreadable, interpretable, and/or executable by a computing device and/orother machine. For example, the machine readable instructions may bestored in multiple parts, which are individually compressed, encrypted,and stored on separate computing devices, wherein the parts whendecrypted, decompressed, and combined form a set of executableinstructions that implement one or more functions that may together forma program such as that described herein.

In another example, the machine readable instructions may be stored in astate in which they may be read by processor circuitry, but requireaddition of a library (e.g., a dynamic link library (DLL)), a softwaredevelopment kit (SDK), an application programming interface (API), etc.,in order to execute the instructions on a particular computing device orother device. In another example, the machine readable instructions mayneed to be configured (e.g., settings stored, data input, networkaddresses recorded, etc.) before the machine readable instructionsand/or the corresponding program(s) may be executed in whole or in part.Thus, machine readable media, as used herein, may include machinereadable instructions and/or program(s) regardless of the particularformat or state of the machine readable instructions and/or program(s)when stored or otherwise at rest or in transit.

The machine readable instructions described herein may be represented byany past, present, or future instruction language, scripting language,programming language, etc. For example, the machine readableinstructions may be represented using any of the following languages: C,C++, Java, C #, Perl, Python, JavaScript, HyperText Markup Language(HTML), Structured Query Language (SQL), Swift, etc.

As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 12A-15 may beimplemented using executable instructions (e.g., computer and/or machinereadable instructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/ormachine readable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, aread-only memory, a CD, a DVD, a cache, a random-access memory and/orany other storage device or storage disk in which information is storedfor any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, forbrief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of theinformation). As used herein, the term non-transitory computer readablemedium is expressly defined to include any type of computer readablestorage device and/or storage disk and to exclude propagating signalsand to exclude transmission media.

“Including” and “comprising” (and all forms and tenses thereof) are usedherein to be open ended terms. Thus, whenever a claim employs any formof “include” or “comprise” (e.g., comprises, includes, comprising,including, having, etc.) as a preamble or within a claim recitation ofany kind, it is to be understood that additional elements, terms, etc.,may be present without falling outside the scope of the correspondingclaim or recitation. As used herein, when the phrase “at least” is usedas the transition term in, for example, a preamble of a claim, it isopen-ended in the same manner as the term “comprising” and “including”are open ended.

As used herein, singular references (e.g., “a”, “an”, “first”, “second”,etc.) do not exclude a plurality. The term “a” or “an” entity, as usedherein, refers to one or more of that entity. The terms “a” (or “an”),“one or more”, and “at least one” may be used interchangeably herein.Furthermore, although individually listed, a plurality of means,elements or method actions may be implemented by, e.g., a single unit orprocessor. Additionally, although individual features may be included indifferent examples or claims, these may possibly be combined, and theinclusion in different examples or claims does not imply that acombination of features is not feasible and/or advantageous.

FIGS. 12A-12B illustrate a flowchart representative of example system(e.g., an optical system) 1200 include the headlights 104, 105 of FIGS.1 and/or 2 , the first example vehicle imaging system 300 of FIGS. 3-4 ,and/or the second example vehicle imaging system 500 of FIGS. 5-6 tofacilitate vehicle control based on an operating mode of a headlight.The optical system 1200 of FIGS. 12A-12B begin at block 1202, at whichthe second vehicle imaging system 500 reflects infrared light from alaser to an environment with a mirror. For example, the laser mirror 515may reflect infrared light from the laser 516 to the scene 328 of FIG. 3.

At block 1204, the second vehicle imaging system 500 determines whetherthe operating mode of a headlight is a nighttime or reduced lightingheadlight operating mode. For example, the operating mode determiner 506may determine whether the headlight 104, 105 is to operate in a daytimeor nighttime headlight operating mode based on a timestamp, a commandfrom an operator of the vehicle 102, etc.

If, at block 1204, the second vehicle imaging system 500 determines thatthe operating mode of the headlight is not the nighttime or reducedlighting headlight operating mode (e.g., the headlight operating mode isthe daytime headlight operating mode), then, at block 1206, the secondvehicle imaging system 500 reflects infrared light from the laserreflected by the environment to a first detector with firstmicromirrors(s) of a spatial light modulator (SLM). For example, the SLMcontroller 534 may control first one(s) of the micromirror array 519 toreflect infrared light from the scene 328 to the first detector 524. Insome examples, the output from the second detector 525 is ignored and/orotherwise not delivered to the LIDAR controller 504. In some examples,the second detector 525 is disabled in response to determining that theheadlight operating mode is the daytime headlight operating mode.

At block 1208, the second vehicle imaging system 500 reflects ambientlight from the environment away from the first detector with secondmicromirror(s) of the SLM. For example, the SLM controller 534 maycontrol second one(s) of the micromirror array 519 to reflect ambientlight from the scene 328 away from the first detector 524.

At block 1210, the second vehicle imaging system 500 converts a firstanalog signal output from the first detector to a second analog signal.For example, the first TIA 526 may convert a current output from thefirst detector 524 into a voltage.

At block 1212, the second vehicle imaging system 500 converts the secondanalog signal to a digital signal. For example, the converter 532 mayconvert the voltage from the first TIA 526 to a digital signal thatrepresents the voltage.

At block 1214, the second vehicle imaging system 500 captures images ofthe environment with camera(s). For example, the camera 542 may captureimage(s) of the scene 328.

At block 1216, the second vehicle imaging system 500 generates stereoimage(s) based on the captured image(s). For example, the cameracontroller 510 may generate a stereo image based on first image(s) fromthe camera 542 and second image(s) from another instance of the camera542.

At block 1218, the second vehicle imaging system 500 generates vehiclecontrol data based on at least one of the digital signal or the stereoimage(s). For example, the LIDAR controller 504 may generate vehiclecontrol data that may be used by the vehicle 102 to facilitate controlof the vehicle 102 or system(s), portion(s), etc., thereof based on the3-D data associated with the reflected infrared light, which may berepresented by the digital signal. In such examples, the vehicle 102 maycontrol a speed, a steering direction, etc., of the vehicle 102 based onthe vehicle control data. In some examples, the camera controller 510may generate vehicle control data that may be used by the vehicle 102 tofacilitate control of the vehicle 102 or system(s), portion(s), etc.,thereof based on 3-D data associated with the stereo image(s). In suchexamples, the vehicle 102 may control a speed, a steering direction,etc., of the vehicle 102 based on the vehicle control data. In someexamples, the ECU(s) 106 may transmit the vehicle control data to theHUD 202 of FIG. 2 to present the vehicle control data or portion(s)thereof to an operator of the vehicle 102.

In response to generating the vehicle control data based on at least oneof the digital signal or the stereo image(s) at block 1218, then, atblock 1220, the second vehicle imaging system 500 determines whether tocontinue monitoring the headlight. If, at block 1220, the second vehicleimaging system 500 determines to continue monitoring the headlight,control returns to block 1204. If, at block 1220, the second vehicleimaging system 500 determines not to continue monitoring the headlight,then the example system 1200 of FIGS. 12A-12B ceases operation.

If, at block 1204, the second vehicle imaging system 500 determines thatthe operating mode of the headlight is the nighttime or reduced lightingheadlight operating mode, control proceeds to block 1222 to detectinfrared light with a second detector. For example, the second detector525 may detect infrared light transmitted by the laser that has beenreflected from the scene 328.

At block 1224, the second vehicle imaging system 500 converts a firstanalog signal output from the second detector to a second analog signal.For example, the second TIA 528 may convert a current output from thesecond detector 525 into a voltage.

At block 1226, the second vehicle imaging system 500 converts the secondanalog signal to a digital signal. For example, the converter 532 mayconvert the voltage from the second TIA 528 into a digital signal.

At block 1228, the second vehicle imaging system 500 produces light byan illumination source and reflects the light to the environment withmicromirror(s) of the SLM based on a structured light pattern. Forexample, the SLM controller 534 may (i) control first one(s) of themicromirror(s) of the micromirror array 519 to reflect light from thelight source 540 to the scene 328 to generate vertical bar(s) of lightand (ii) control second one(s) of the micromirror(s) of the micromirrorarray 519 to reflect light from the light source 540 away from the sceneto generate vertical bar(s) of darkness based on a structured lightpattern, such as one(s) of the structured light patterns 1002, 1004,1006 of FIG. 10 .

At block 1230, the second vehicle imaging system 500 captures image(s)of the environment with a camera. For example, the camera 542 maycapture image(s) of the object 706 in the environment 708 based on areflection of the structured light produced in the block 1228.

At block 1232, the second vehicle imaging system 500 generates 3-D databased on distortions in structured light pattern(s) in the capturedimage(s). For example, the camera controller 510 may identifydistortions in the structured light pattern and generate 3-D data basedon the identified distortions.

At block 1234, the second vehicle imaging system 500 generates vehiclecontrol data based on at least one of the digital signal or the 3-Ddata. For example, the LIDAR controller 504 may generate vehicle controldata that may be used by the vehicle 102 to facilitate control of thevehicle 102 or system(s), portion(s), etc., thereof based on the 3-Ddata associated with the reflected infrared light, which may berepresented by the digital signal. In such examples, the vehicle 102 maycontrol a speed, a steering direction, etc., of the vehicle 102 based onthe vehicle control data. In some examples, the camera controller 510may generate vehicle control data that may be used by the vehicle 102 tofacilitate control of the vehicle 102 or system(s), portion(s), etc.,thereof based on the 3-D data associated with the distortion(s) capturedin the image(s). In such examples, the vehicle 102 may control a speed,a steering direction, etc., of the vehicle 102 based on the vehiclecontrol data.

In response to generating the vehicle control data at block 1234, thesecond vehicle imaging system 500 determines whether to continuemonitoring the headlight at block 1236. If, at block 1236, the secondvehicle imaging system 500 determines to continue monitoring theheadlight, control returns to block 1204. If, at block 1236, the secondvehicle imaging system 500 determines not to continue monitoring theheadlight, then the example system 1200 of FIGS. 12A-12B ceases and/orotherwise concludes operation.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions 1300 that may be executed to implement the headlights 104,105 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the first vehicle imaging system 300 of FIGS.3-4 , the second vehicle imaging system 500 of FIGS. 5-6 , and/or theadaptive headlights 700, 702 of FIG. 7 to facilitate control of thevehicle 102 of FIGS. 1-2 . The machine readable instructions 1300 ofFIG. 13 begin at block 1302, at which the imaging controller 502 (FIG. 5) enables a LIDAR system to effectuate machine vision operation(s) of avehicle. For example, the LIDAR controller 504 (FIG. 5 ) may control themirror 118 (FIG. 1 ) to reflect IR light from the laser 116 (FIG. 1 ).In such examples, the LIDAR controller 504 may enable and/or otherwiseturn on the laser 116 to project the IR light for LIDAR sensing.

At block 1304, the imaging controller 502 determines a headlightoperating mode of a headlight of the vehicle. For example, the operatingmode determiner 506 (FIG. 5 ) may determine a headlight operating modeof the headlight 104, 105 based on at least one of time data,environmental data, or user control data.

At block 1306, the imaging controller 502 determines whether theheadlight operating mode is a nighttime or reduced lighting headlightoperating mode. For example, the operating mode determiner 506 maydetermine whether the headlight 104, 105 is to operate in a daytime ornighttime headlight operating mode based on a timestamp, a command froman operator of the vehicle 102, etc.

If, at block 1306, the imaging controller 502 determines that theheadlight operating mode is the nighttime or reduced lighting headlightoperating mode, control proceeds to block 1310 to configure opticalpaths associated with the headlight for the nighttime headlightoperating mode. An example process that may be executed to implementblock 1310 is described below in connection with FIG. 15 . For example,the adaptive headlight controller 508 (FIG. 5 ) may turn on the lightsource 540 (FIG. 5 ) and control one(s) of the micromirror array 519(FIG. 5 ) to project the light from the light source 540. In suchexamples, the LIDAR controller 504 may receive reflected IR light from ascanned environment via the second detector 525 (FIG. 5 ).

If, at block 1306, the imaging controller 502 determines that theheadlight operating mode is not the nighttime or reduced lightingheadlight operating mode (e.g., the headlight operating mode is thedaytime headlight operating mode), then, at block 1308, the imagingcontroller 502 configures optical paths associated with the headlightfor the daytime headlight operating mode. An example process that may beexecuted to implement block 1308 is described below in connection withFIG. 14 . For example, the adaptive headlight controller 508 may turnoff the light source 540 and control one(s) of the micromirror array 519to reject ambient light from a scanned environment. In such examples,the LIDAR controller 504 may receive reflected IR light from the scannedenvironment via the first detector 524 (FIG. 5 ).

In response to configuring the optical paths at block 1308 or block1310, the imaging controller 502 in block 1312, controls the headlightusing the configured optical paths. For example, the adaptive headlightcontroller 508 may project a headlight pattern, a structured lightpattern, etc., during nighttime. In other examples, the adaptiveheadlight controller 508 may control the micromirror array 519 to rejectambient light from the scanned environment.

At block 1314, the imaging controller 502 facilitates vehicle controlusing the headlight with the configured optical paths. For example, theadaptive headlight controller 508 may improve safety for an operatorwhile operating the vehicle 102 by projecting the headlight pattern, thestructured light pattern, etc., during nighttime. In other examples, theadaptive headlight controller 508 may improve operation of the LIDARsystem 108 and thereby improve safety for the operator of the vehicle102 by rejecting ambient light from the scanned environment.

At block 1316, the imaging controller 502 determines whether thecontinue monitoring the headlight and/or vehicle operation. If, at block1316, the imaging controller 502 determines to continue monitoring theheadlight and/or vehicle operation, control returns to block 1302 toenable the LIDAR system to effectuate machine vision operation(s) of thevehicle, otherwise the machine readable instructions 1300 of FIG. 13conclude.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions 1400 that may be executed to implement the headlights 104,105 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the first vehicle imaging system 300 of FIGS.3-4 , the second vehicle imaging system 500 of FIGS. 5-6 , and/or theadaptive headlights 700, 702 of FIG. 7 to configure optical pathsassociated with a headlight for a daytime headlight operating mode. Themachine readable instructions 1400 of FIG. 14 may be executed toimplement block 1308 of the machine readable instructions 1300 of FIG.13 .

The machine readable instructions 1400 of FIG. 14 begin at block 1402,at which the imaging controller 502 (FIG. 5 ) turns off a headlightillumination source. For example, the adaptive headlight controller 508(FIG. 5 ) may instruct the light source driver 538 (FIG. 5 ) to turn offthe light source 540 (FIG. 5 ).

At block 1404, the imaging controller 502 adjusts first mirror(s) of aspatial light modulator (SLM) to reject ambient light from anenvironment. For example, the adaptive headlight controller 508 maydirect the SLM controller 534 (FIG. 5 ) to adjust position(s) of firstone(s) of the micromirrors of the micromirror array 519 (FIG. 5 ) toreject ambient light from an environment of the vehicle 102.

At block 1406, the imaging controller 502 adjusts second mirror(s) ofthe SLM to direct the reflected infrared light from a LIDAR system. Forexample, the adaptive headlight controller 508 may direct the SLMcontroller 534 to adjust position(s) of second one(s) of themicromirrors of the micromirror array 519 to receive infrared lightreflected from the environment of the vehicle 102, which was transmittedto the environment from the laser 516 (FIG. 5 ).

At block 1408, the imaging controller 502 generates 3-D data based onthe captured reflected infrared light with a photodetector from thesecond mirror(s) of the SLM. For example, the LIDAR controller 504 (FIG.5 ) may generate 3-D data, such as distance measurement(s), of an objectin the environment with respect to the vehicle 102 based on thereflected infrared light received by the micromirror array 519.

At block 1410, the imaging controller 502 captures image(s) fromcamera(s) to generate stereo image(s). For example, the cameracontroller 510 (FIG. 5 ) may control one or more instances of the camera542 (FIG. 5 ) to capture one or more images of the environment tosupport the generation of stereo image(s).

At block 1412, the imaging controller 502 generates 3-D data based ondepth information of the stereo image(s). For example, the cameracontroller 510 may generate 3-D data, such as distance measurement(s),of an object in the environment with respect to the vehicle 102 based oninformation associated with the stereo image(s), such as depthinformation.

At block 1414, the imaging controller 502 generates vehicle control databased on the 3-D data based on at least one of the reflected infraredlight or the stereo image(s). For example, the LIDAR controller 504 maygenerate vehicle control data that may be used by the vehicle 102 tofacilitate control of the vehicle 102 or system(s), portion(s), etc.,thereof based on the 3-D data associated with the reflected infraredlight. In such examples, the vehicle 102 may control a speed, a steeringdirection, etc., of the vehicle 102 based on the vehicle control data.In some examples, the camera controller 510 may generate vehicle controldata that may be used by the vehicle 102 to facilitate control of thevehicle 102 or system(s), portion(s), etc., thereof based on the 3-Ddata associated with the stereo image(s). In such examples, the vehicle102 may control a speed, a steering direction, etc., of the vehicle 102based on the vehicle control data. In some examples, the ECU(s) 106 maytransmit the vehicle control data to the HUD 202 of FIG. 2 to presentthe vehicle control data or portion(s) thereof to an operator of thevehicle 102. In response to generating the vehicle control data at block1414, the machine readable instructions 1400 of FIG. 14 return to block1312 of the machine readable instructions 1300 of FIG. 13 .

FIG. 15 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions 1500 that may be executed to implement the headlights 104,105 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 , the first vehicle imaging system 300 of FIGS.3-4 , the second vehicle imaging system 500 of FIGS. 5-6 , and/or theadaptive headlights 700, 702 of FIG. 7 to configure optical pathsassociated with a headlight for a nighttime headlight operating mode.The machine readable instructions 1500 of FIG. 15 may be executed toimplement block 1310 of the machine readable instructions 1300 of FIG.13 .

The machine readable instructions 1500 of FIG. 15 begin at block 1502,at which the imaging controller 502 (FIG. 5 ) turns on a headlightillumination source. For example, the adaptive headlight controller 508(FIG. 5 ) may instruct the light source driver 538 (FIG. 5 ) to turn onthe light source 540 (FIG. 5 ).

At block 1504, the imaging controller 502 adjusts mirror(s) of a spatiallight modulator (SLM) to project the headlight illumination source basedon structured light pattern(s). For example, the adaptive headlightcontroller 508 may direct the SLM controller 534 (FIG. 5 ) to adjustposition(s) of first one(s) of the micromirrors of the micromirror array519 (FIG. 5 ) to project light from the light source 540 (FIG. 5 ) to anenvironment of the vehicle 102. In such examples, the adaptive headlightcontroller 508 may adjust the position(s) to time multiplex one(s) ofthe structured light patterns 1002, 1004, 1006 and the headlightpattern(s) 1014 of FIG. 10 .

At block 1506, the imaging controller 502 generates 3-D data based oncaptured reflected infrared light with a photodetector. For example, theLIDAR controller 504 (FIG. 5 ) may generate 3-D data, such as distancemeasurement(s), of an object in the environment with respect to thevehicle 102 based on the reflected infrared light received by the seconddetector 525 (FIG. 5 ).

At block 1508, the imaging controller 502 captures image(s) fromcamera(s). For example, the camera controller 510 (FIG. 5 ) may controlone or more instances of the camera 542 (FIG. 5 ) to capture one or moreimages of the environment.

At block 1510, the imaging controller 502 generates 3-D data based ondistortions in the structured light pattern(s) captured in the image(s).For example, the camera controller 510 may generate 3-D data, such asdistance measurement(s), of an object in the environment with respect tothe vehicle 102 by analyzing the distortions of the light pattern 704(FIG. 7 ) on the object 706 (FIG. 7 ).

At block 1512, the imaging controller 502 generates vehicle control databased on the 3-D data based on at least one of the reflected infraredlight or the distortions in the structured light pattern(s). Forexample, the LIDAR controller 504 may generate vehicle control data thatmay be used by the vehicle 102 to facilitate control of the vehicle 102or system(s), portion(s), etc., thereof based on the 3-D data associatedwith the reflected infrared light. In such examples, the vehicle 102 maycontrol a speed, a steering direction, etc., of the vehicle 102 based onthe vehicle control data. In some examples, the camera controller 510may generate vehicle control data that may be used by the vehicle 102 tofacilitate control of the vehicle 102 or system(s), portion(s), etc.,thereof based on the 3-D data associated with the distortion(s) capturedin the image(s). In such examples, the vehicle 102 may control a speed,a steering direction, etc., of the vehicle 102 based on the vehiclecontrol data. In response to generating the vehicle control data atblock 1512, the machine readable instructions 1500 of FIG. 15 return toblock 1312 of the machine readable instructions 1300 of FIG. 13 .

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 1600structured to execute the instructions of FIGS. 12A-15 to implement theexample imaging controller 502 of FIG. 5 . The processor platform 1600may be, for example, an ECU, a server, an industrial computer, aself-learning machine (e.g., a neural network), or any other type ofcomputing device.

The processor platform 1600 of the illustrated example includes aprocessor 1612. The processor 1612 of the illustrated example ishardware. For example, the processor 1612 may be implemented by one ormore integrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors, GPUs, DSPs,or controllers from any desired family or manufacturer. The hardwareprocessor may be a semiconductor based (e.g., silicon based) device. Inthis example, the processor 1612 implements the example LIDAR controller504, the example operating mode determiner 506, the example adaptiveheadlight controller 508, and the example camera controller 510 of FIG.5 .

The processor 1612 of the illustrated example includes a local memory1613 (e.g., a cache). The processor 1612 of the illustrated example isin communication with a main memory including a volatile memory 1614 anda non-volatile memory 1616 via a bus 1618. The volatile memory 1614 maybe implemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM),Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS® Dynamic Random AccessMemory (RDRAM®) and/or any other type of random access memory device.The non-volatile memory 1616 may be implemented by flash memory and/orany other desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory 1614,1616 is controlled by a memory controller.

The processor platform 1600 of the illustrated example also includes aninterface circuit 1620. The interface circuit 1620 may be implemented byany type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, auniversal serial bus (USB), a Bluetooth® interface, a near fieldcommunication (NFC) interface, and/or a PCI express interface.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 1622 are connectedto the interface circuit 1620. The input device(s) 1622 permit(s) a userto enter data and/or commands into the processor 1612. The inputdevice(s) may be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, amicrophone, a camera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, atouchscreen, a track-pad, a trackball, an isopoint device, and/or avoice recognition system.

One or more output devices 1624 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 1620 of the illustrated example. The output devices 1624 may beimplemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., an LED, an organiclight emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathoderay tube (CRT) display, an in-place switching (IPS) display, atouchscreen, etc.), a tactile output device, a printer and/or speaker.The interface circuit 1620 of the illustrated example, thus, typicallyincludes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chip and/or agraphics driver processor.

The interface circuit 1620 of the illustrated example also includes acommunication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, amodem, a residential gateway, a wireless access point, and/or a networkinterface to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g.,computing devices of any kind) via a network 1626. The communication maybe via, for example, an Ethernet connection, a satellite system, aline-of-site wireless system, a cellular telephone system, etc.

The processor platform 1600 of the illustrated example also includes oneor more mass storage devices 1628 for storing software and/or data.Examples of such mass storage devices 1628 include non-transitorycomputer readable storage media, such as floppy disk drives, hard drivedisks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, redundant array ofindependent disks (RAID) systems, and digital versatile disk (DVD)drives.

The machine readable instructions 1632 of FIGS. 12A-15 may be stored inthe mass storage device 1628, in the volatile memory 1614, in thenon-volatile memory 1616, and/or on a removable non-transitory computerreadable storage medium such as a CD or DVD.

A block diagram illustrating an example software distribution platform1705 to distribute software such as the example machine readableinstructions 1632 of FIG. 16 to third parties is illustrated in FIG. 17. The example software distribution platform 1705 may be implemented byany computer server, data facility, cloud service, etc., capable ofstoring and transmitting software to other computing devices. The thirdparties may be customers of the entity owning and/or operating thesoftware distribution platform 1705. For example, the entity that ownsand/or operates the software distribution platform 1705 may be adeveloper, a seller, and/or a licensor of software such as the examplemachine readable instructions 1632 of FIG. 16 . The third parties may beconsumers, users, retailers (e.g., vehicle retailers, vehicle repairfacilities, etc.), OEMs (e.g., vehicle OEMs, vehicle component OEMs,etc.), etc., who purchase and/or license the software for use and/orre-sale and/or sub-licensing. In the illustrated example, the softwaredistribution platform 1705 includes one or more servers and one or morestorage devices. The storage devices store the machine readableinstructions 1632, which may correspond to the example machine readableinstructions 1300, 1400, 1500 of FIGS. 12A-15 , as described above. Theone or more servers of the example software distribution platform 1705are in communication with a network 1710, which may correspond to anyone or more of the Internet and/or any of the example networks 132, 1626described above. In some examples, the one or more servers areresponsive to requests to transmit the software to a requesting party aspart of a commercial transaction. Payment for the delivery, sale and/orlicense of the software may be handled by the one or more servers of thesoftware distribution platform and/or via a third party payment entity.The servers enable purchasers and/or licensors to download the machinereadable instructions 1632 from the software distribution platform 1705.For example, the software, which may correspond to the example machinereadable instructions 1632 of FIG. 1632 , may be downloaded to theexample processor platform 1600, which is to execute the machinereadable instructions 1632 to implement the example imaging controller502 of FIG. 5 . In some example, one or more servers of the softwaredistribution platform 1705 periodically offer, transmit, and/or forceupdates to the software (e.g., the example machine readable instructions1632 of FIG. 16 ) to ensure improvements, patches, updates, etc., aredistributed and applied to the software at the end user devices.

In this description, the term “and/or” (when used in a form such as A, Band/or C) refers to any combination or subset of A, B, C, such as: (a) Aalone; (b) B alone; (c) C alone; (d) A with B; (e) A with C; (f) B withC; and (g) A with B and with C. Also, as used herein, the phrase “atleast one of A or B” (or “at least one of A and B”) refers toimplementations including any of: (a) at least one A; (b) at least oneB; and (c) at least one A and at least one B.

Example systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture hereinimprove adaptive vehicle headlights. Examples described herein include aspatial light modulator that is able to change the patterns that itdisplays and/or otherwise projects onto an environment depending on timeof day in order to provide different functionality. Examples describedherein effectuate such different functionality by including a dichroicelement that may be used to optically multiplex the spatial lightmodulator between the different functions. Advantageously, examplesdescribed herein improve adaptive vehicle headlights, and/or, moregenerally, a vehicle, to effectuate increased safety for an operatorand/or passenger(s) of the vehicle.

Example methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture toeffectuate adaptive vehicle headlights are disclosed herein. Furtherexamples and combinations thereof include the following:

Example 1 includes a system comprising a photodetector, an illuminationsource configured to generate first light during a first operating mode,a spatial light modulator (SLM), and a dichroic filter optically coupledto the illumination source and to the SLM, wherein the dichroic filteris configured to direct the first light to the SLM, and wherein the SLMis configured to direct second light to the dichroic filter during asecond operating mode, wherein the dichroic filter is configured todirect the second light having a first color to the photodetector, anddirect the first light during the first operating mode.

Example 2 includes the system of example 1, wherein the first operatingmode corresponds to operating the system during nighttime and the secondoperating mode corresponds to operating the system during daytime.

Example 3 includes the system of example 1, wherein the photodetector isa first photodetector optically coupled to the SLM, and furtherincluding a second photodetector to detect the first light based on thefirst operating mode.

Example 4 includes the system of example 1, wherein the photodetector isa first photodetector optically coupled to the SLM, and furtherincluding a second photodetector, a first amplifier having a firstamplifier input and a first amplifier output, the first amplifier inputcoupled to the first photodetector, a second amplifier having a secondamplifier input and a second amplifier output, the second amplifierinput coupled to the second photodetector, and a multiplexer having afirst multiplexer input and a second multiplexer input, the firstamplifier output coupled to the first multiplexer input, the secondamplifier output coupled to the second multiplexer input.

Example 5 includes the system of example 4, wherein the multiplexer hasa multiplexer output and a multiplexer control, and further comprisingprocessor circuitry coupled to the multiplexer control, the processorcircuitry configured to select the first multiplexer input as themultiplexer output during the first operating mode, and select thesecond multiplexer input as the multiplexer output during the secondoperating mode.

Example 6 includes the system of example 4, wherein the multiplexer hasa multiplexer output and a multiplexer control, and further comprising aconverter having a converter input and a converter output, the converterinput coupled to the multiplexer output, the converter being ananalog-to-digital converter or a time-to-digital converter, andprocessor circuitry coupled to the converter output and to themultiplexer control.

Example 7 includes the system of example 1, wherein the illuminationsource is a light-emitting diode (LED), and further comprising processorcircuitry, and a driver having a driver input and a driver output, thedriver input coupled to the processor circuitry, the driver outputcoupled to the LED.

Example 8 includes the system of example 1, wherein the photodetector isa first photodetector, and further comprising a laser driver, a lasercoupled to the laser driver, the laser configured to produce thirdlight, the SLM configured to direct a reflection of the third light tothe first photodetector during the second operating mode, the firstphotodetector configured to detect the reflection of the third lightduring the second operating mode, and a second photodetector configuredto detect the reflection of the third light during the first operatingmode.

Example 9 includes the system of example 1, wherein the first light isgenerated at a first time based on a first light pattern and the SLM isconfigured to direct third light from the illumination source at a thirdtime based on a second light pattern, and further comprising a cameraconfigured to capture a first image of the first light pattern andcapture a second image of the second light pattern, and processorcircuitry coupled to the camera, the processor circuitry configured todetermine a first distance measurement based on a first distortionmeasurement associated with the first image, determine a second distancemeasurement based on a second distortion measurement associated with thesecond image, and generate three-dimensional (3-D) data based on atleast one of the first distance measurement or the second distancemeasurement.

Example 10 includes a vehicle comprising a first headlight, and a secondheadlight comprising a laser configured to produce first light, anillumination source configured to produce second light, a spatial lightmodulator (SLM) optically coupled to the illumination source, and acontroller coupled to the SLM, the controller configured to control theSLM to direct a reflection of the first light during a first operatingmode, and control the SLM to direct the second light during a secondoperating mode.

Example 11 includes the vehicle of example 10, wherein the controller isconfigured to determine at least one of the first operating mode or thesecond operating mode based on at least one of presence of ambientlight, a timestamp, a weather condition of an environment of thevehicle, or a command from an operator of the vehicle.

Example 12 includes the vehicle of example 10, further comprising aphotodetector, the SLM comprising first elements and second elements,and the controller is configured to, during the first operating modecontrol the first elements to reflect the first light to thephotodetector, and control the second elements to reflect the firstlight away from the photodetector.

Example 13 includes the vehicle of example 10, further comprising afirst photodetector and a second photodetector, and the controller isconfigured to select the first photodetector to detect the first light,and disable the second photodetector responsive to selecting the firstphotodetector.

Example 14 includes the vehicle of example 10, the SLM comprising firstelements and second elements, the vehicle further comprising a mirrorand a photodetector, and the controller is configured to, during thefirst operating mode control the mirror to reflect the first light,control respective the first elements to reflect the first light to thephotodetector, and control the second elements to reflect third lightaway from the photodetector.

Example 15 includes the vehicle of example 10, further including amirror, a first photodetector, and a second photodetector, and thecontroller is configured to, during the second operating mode controlthe mirror to reflect the first light, disable the first photodetectorby selecting the second photodetector to detect the first light, controlthe SLM to reflect the second light to generate a headlight pattern at afirst time, and control the SLM to reflect the second light to generatea structured light pattern at a second time.

Example 16 includes the vehicle of example 10, the SLM comprising firstelements and second elements, the vehicle further comprising a camera,and the controller is configured to control the first elements toreflect the second light to produce a first light pattern, capture afirst image of the first light pattern with the camera, determine afirst distance measurement based on a first distortion measurementassociated with the first image, control the second elements to reflectthe second light to generate a second light pattern different from thefirst light pattern, capture a second image of the second light patternwith the camera, determine a second distance measurement based on asecond distortion measurement associated with the second image, andcontrol the vehicle based on at least one of the first distancemeasurement or the second distance measurement.

Example 17 includes the vehicle of example 16, wherein the first lightpattern includes first lines of the second light having a first widthand the second light pattern includes second lines of the second lighthaving a second width different from the first width.

Example 18 includes the vehicle of example 10, wherein the firstheadlight comprises a first camera and the second headlight comprises asecond camera, the first operating mode is a daytime operating mode, andthe controller is configured to capture a first image with the firstcamera, capture a second image with the second camera, generate a stereoimage based on the first image and the second image, generatethree-dimensional data based on the stereo image, and control thevehicle based on the three-dimensional data.

Example 19 includes a method comprising controlling a micromirror arrayto reflect first light from a laser of a headlight based on a firstoperating mode of the headlight, and controlling the micromirror arrayto reflect second light from an illumination source of the headlightbased on a second operating mode of the headlight.

Example 20 includes the method of example 19, wherein the headlight isincluded in a vehicle, and further including determining a timestamp,determining a weather condition of an environment of the vehicle, anddetermining whether a command has been obtained from an operator of thevehicle, the determination of the first operating mode or the secondoperating mode based on at least one of the timestamp, the weathercondition, or the command.

Example 21 includes the method of example 19, wherein the micromirrorarray includes micromirrors, and further including, in response todetermining the first operating mode controlling first ones of themicromirrors to reflect the first light to a photodetector, andcontrolling second ones of the micromirrors to reflect ambient lightaway from the photodetector.

Example 22 includes the method of example 19, further including, inresponse to determining the second operating mode controlling a lasermirror to reflect the first light from a laser, selecting a firstphotodetector of the headlight to detect the first light, disabling asecond photodetector of the headlight based on the selection,controlling the micromirror array to reflect the second light togenerate a headlight pattern at a first time, and controlling themicromirror array to reflect the second light to generate a structuredlight pattern at a second time after the first time.

Example 23 includes the method of example 19, further including, inresponse to determining the second operating mode controlling a firstset of micromirrors of the micromirror array to reflect a first lightpattern, obtaining a first image of the first light pattern from acamera, determining a first distance measurement based on a firstdistortion measurement associated with the first image, controlling asecond set of micromirrors of the micromirror array to reflect a secondlight pattern different from the first light pattern, obtaining a secondimage of the second light pattern from the camera, and determining asecond distance measurement based on a second distortion measurementassociated with the second image.

Example 24 includes the method of example 23, wherein the first lightpattern includes first lines of the second light having a first widthand the second light pattern includes second lines of the second lighthaving a second width different from the first width.

Example 25 includes the method of example 19, wherein the headlight is afirst headlight, the first operating mode is a daytime operating mode,further including obtaining a first image from a first camera of thefirst headlight, obtaining a second image from a second camera of asecond headlight, generating a stereo image based on the first image andthe second image, and generating three-dimensional data based on thestereo image.

Modifications are possible in the described embodiments, and otherembodiments are possible, within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a photodetector; an illumination source configured to generate a first light during a first operating mode; a spatial light modulator (SLM); and a dichroic filter optically coupled to the illumination source and to the SLM, wherein the dichroic filter is configured to direct the first light towards the SLM; and wherein the SLM is configured to: direct a second light towards the dichroic filter during a second operating mode, wherein the dichroic filter is configured to direct the second light having a first color towards the photodetector; and direct the first light during the first operating mode.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first operating mode corresponds to operating the system during nighttime and the second operating mode corresponds to operating the system during daytime.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the photodetector is a first photodetector optically coupled to the SLM, and further including a second photodetector to detect the first light during the first operating mode.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the photodetector is a first photodetector optically coupled to the SLM, and further including: a second photodetector; a first amplifier having a first amplifier input and a first amplifier output, the first amplifier input coupled to the first photodetector; a second amplifier having a second amplifier input and a second amplifier output, the second amplifier input coupled to the second photodetector; and a multiplexer having a first multiplexer input and a second multiplexer input, the first amplifier output coupled to the first multiplexer input, the second amplifier output coupled to the second multiplexer input.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the multiplexer has a multiplexer output and a multiplexer control, and further comprising processor circuitry coupled to the multiplexer control, the processor circuitry configured to: select the first multiplexer input as the multiplexer output during the first operating mode; and select the second multiplexer input as the multiplexer output during the second operating mode.
 6. The system of claim 4, wherein the multiplexer has a multiplexer output and a multiplexer control, and further comprising: a converter having a converter input and a converter output, the converter input coupled to the multiplexer output, the converter being an analog-to-digital converter or a time-to-digital converter; and processor circuitry coupled to the converter output and to the multiplexer control.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the illumination source is a light-emitting diode (LED), and further comprising: processor circuitry; and a driver having a driver input and a driver output, the driver input coupled to the processor circuitry, the driver output coupled to the LED.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the photodetector is a first photodetector, and further comprising: a laser driver; a laser coupled to the laser driver, the laser configured to produce a third light, the SLM configured to direct a reflection of the third light to the first photodetector during the second operating mode, the first photodetector configured to detect the reflection of the third light during the second operating mode; and a second photodetector configured to detect the reflection of the third light during the first operating mode.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the first light is generated at a first time based on a first light pattern and the SLM is configured to direct a third light from the illumination source at a third time based on a second light pattern, and further comprising: a camera configured to capture a first image of the first light pattern and capture a second image of the second light pattern; and processor circuitry coupled to the camera, the processor circuitry configured to: determine a first distance measurement based on a first distortion measurement associated with the first image; determine a second distance measurement based on a second distortion measurement associated with the second image; and generate three-dimensional (3-D) data based on at least one of the first distance measurement or the second distance measurement.
 10. A system comprising: a spatial light modulator (SLM); a light source configured to produce a first light having a first wavelength; a dichroic filter optically coupled to the light source and to the SLM, the dichroic filter configured to direct the first light towards the SLM, the SLM configured to modulate the first light to produce first modulated light; and a photodetector optically coupled to the dichroic filter; the SLM configured to: receive a second light having a second wavelength different that the first wavelength; and modulate the second light to produce second modulated light; and the dichroic filter configured to direct the second modulated light towards the photodetector.
 11. The system of claim 10, further comprising: a controller coupled to the SLM; and an electronic control unit (ECU) coupled to the controller, the ECU configured to: instruct the controller to control the SLM to modulate the first light during a first mode of operation; and instruct the controller to control the SLM to modulate the second light during a second mode of operation.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the ECU is further configured to select the first mode of operation or the second mode of operation based on an amount of ambient light, a timestamp, a weather condition, or receiving a command.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the photodetector is a first photodetector, the system further comprising a second photodetector coupled to the ECU, wherein the ECU is configured to: disable the second photodetector during the second mode of operation; and enable the first photodetector during the second mode of operation.
 14. The system of claim 13, further comprising: a first trans-impedance amplifier (TCA) coupled to the first photodetector; a second TIA coupled to the second photodetector; and a multiplexer coupled to the first TIA, to the second TIA, and to the ECU.
 15. The system of claim 11, further comprising a laser coupled to the ECU, the laser configured to produce the second light.
 16. The system of claim 11, wherein the first modulated light is a structured light pattern, the system further comprising a camera coupled to the ECU, the camera configured to receive a reflection of the structured light pattern.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein the first mode of operation is nighttime operation and the second mode of operation is daytime operation.
 18. The system of claim 10, further comprising a projection lens coupled to the SLM, the projection lens configured to: project the first modulated light; and direct the second light towards the SLM.
 19. The system of claim 10, further comprising a biconic mirror optically coupled between the SLM and the dichroic filter.
 20. A vehicle comprising: a headlight comprising: a spatial light modulator (SLM); a light source configured to produce a first light having a first wavelength; a dichroic filter optically coupled to the light source and to the SLM, the dichroic filter configured to direct the first light towards the SLM, the SLM configured to modulate the first light to produce first modulated light; and a photodetector optically coupled to the dichroic filter; the SLM configured to: receive a second light having a second wavelength different that the first wavelength; and modulate the second light to produce second modulated light; and the dichroic filter configured to direct the second modulated light towards the photodetector.
 21. The vehicle of claim 20, the headlight further comprising: a controller coupled to the SLM; and an electronic control unit (ECU) coupled to the controller, the ECU configured to: instruct the controller to control the SLM to modulate the first light during a first mode of operation; and instruct the controller to control the SLM to modulate the second light during a second mode of operation.
 22. The vehicle of claim 21, wherein the ECU is further configured to select the first mode of operation or the second mode of operation based on an amount of ambient light, a timestamp, a weather condition, or receiving a command.
 23. The vehicle of claim 21, wherein the photodetector is a first photodetector the headlight further comprising a second photodetector coupled to the ECU, wherein the ECU is configured to: disable the second photodetector during the second mode of operation; and enable the first photodetector during the second mode of operation.
 24. The vehicle of claim 23, the headlight further comprising: a first trans-impedance amplifier (TCA) coupled to the first photodetector; a second TIA coupled to the second photodetector; and a multiplexer coupled to the first TIA, to the second TIA, and to the ECU.
 25. The vehicle of claim 21, the headlight further comprising a laser coupled to the ECU, the laser configured to produce the second light.
 26. The vehicle of claim 21, wherein the first modulated light is a structured light pattern, the headlight further comprising a camera coupled to the ECU, the camera configured to receive a reflection of the structured light pattern.
 27. The vehicle of claim 20, the headlight further comprising a projection lens coupled to the SLM, the projection lens configured to: project the first modulated light; and direct the second light towards the SLM. 